Legend In The Making
by katarauchiha653719
Summary: Legends tell tales about great heroes who rise up to the challenge. Now, it's time for one young girl to rise and live up to her family name. With the hardships and suffering, will she be able to find her true self or will she get lost throughout her life
1. Prologue: part 1: The Legend

disclaimer: attention, i do not own naruto nor any of the characters if i did i would be pretty wealthy. but i do own any made up characters.

with anything futhermore, let's get on with the story : )

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**Legend In The Making**

Prologue: Part 1

_Long ago, long before all the nations and villages were created, the land was in control of a mighty, great evil that conquered the whole world. This evil being took the form as a powerful, dark dragon demon and his name struck terror in many faces. This monster, known as Kiyoto, rained upon the land chaos and destruction with his army of demons; it seemed that all hope was lost._

_Many great warriors fought back, but one never prevailed. Only the Three Legendary Warriors could stop him; prophecy told of the three warriors that would rise up and seal Kiyoto into another dimension. These warriors were rumored to have unbelievable strength and the ability to control the different elements. Each warrior specialized in their area of expertise, while there would be one who stood above the rest._

_This specialized one would be chosen to have the responsibility to risk everything in order to seal the dark dragon away for good. Not only did this one stand out because of his/her's brutal strength, but he/she also had control over all the elements. He/she also had specialized abilities that the other two did not posses._

_A resistance was secretly formed against Kiyoto and together, they found the ones who would end this once and for all. The Three Legendary Warriors were: Uchiha Kaito (chosen one,) Namikaze Raiden, and Isago Tadaaki. _

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_please be free to review!! _

this is my first chapter to my first story so i'd be glad if you gave me some tips to help me improve.


	2. Prologue:part 2:The Great Battle: part 1

**Legend in The Making**

**' ………_..'_**_ thoughts_

**Prologue: part 2: The Great Battle part 1**

_Uchiha Kaito was staring back at his reflection; seeing the man he had become. He had come very far from being that little goofy kid, that some may have never believed that he was the chosen one. That once childish boy had become a handsome man who was the leader of his clan. He saw that he was still the same person except his features were more defined; he had fierce blue eyes along with dark black hair tied back in a ponytail. Kaito still had the same personality: humorous, yet kind and understanding. _

_Suddenly, a knock at the door stopped him from his train of thought. In came Namikaze Raiden, and Isago Tadaaki. Both men had been through a great deal with Kaito; after all, all three did grow up together and they had become the best of friends. Out of the three, Raiden was the one who still acted as a kid. His face was still as innocent as ever; he had bright blue orbs as eyes and light auburn hair spiked up with yellow highlights. This man was always known as the prankster, but on the battlefield, he was as fierce as ever. Now Tadaaki, he's a different story. Tadaaki was usually the most serious out of all of them and throughout their childhood together, he was always the rebel. But throughout the years, he learned to warm-up to others and his friends have found that he actually had a sense of humor. Tadaaki had dark brown hair with forest green eyes, which held knowledge well beyond his years._

"_Lord Uchiha, we're here to finalize the plans for tomorrow's battle." Said Tadaaki_

"_Now Tadaaki-san, you know how we've talked about this; there's no need to use such formalities." Replied Kaito._

"_Hahahaha!! That's like the millionth time he has told you that……….._stifling a laugh_, but yet, you won't listen. Some great listener you are. You probably didn't even listen to my great story on the way here." Raiden said as he laughed until his stomach hurt._

_Tadaaki had a huge anime vein pop out and he cleverly replied back saying, "Well, at least I wasn't blabbing on and on about ramen; seriously is that what you always talk about. I sometimes wonder how you ever got married before the two of us. Actually, I wonder how your wife can even stand you!"_

"_WHAT! Say that to my face one more time and we'll see who gets the last laugh! That's right, right here, right NOW!!MWHAAA!! See I got the last laugh, so I win!!" Raiden yelled._

"_That doesn't even make sense you baka!" Tadaaki argued._

"_What did you call me you cold ice block!!" screamed Raiden._

_Kaito always hated seeing them both bicker over something ridiculous. Deciding to stop them before a fist fight would occur, he said, "May we continue?"_

_Both figures turned to see their friend as if they had forgotten that he was in the room. _

"_Hehehe…sorry about that" Raiden embarrassingly answered._

"_Of course, my apologies as well, but before I was interrupted by this baka, we need to make sure that all the preparations for tomorrow's fight are ready. Tadaaki knowingly said._

"_Man, I swear you worry too much, Tadaaki. We already planned this flawless plan for the past 3 months!!" yelled the blue-eyed idiot._

"_Hm…..I guess it wouldn't hurt to oversee if everything is ready; well then, we better go and check." said the Uchiha as he began to leave the room._

"_HEY WAIT UP!!" Raiden screamed as he took off with Tadaaki following in swift pursuit after the Uchiha._

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_Screams of terror could be heard from around every corner. Fires quickly spread, as people began to evacuate from the chaos. Those who wished to fight for the greater good stayed, while others helped keep the villagers safe. _

_At long last, the villagers' hope came true; their three warriors had come to lead the battle, which was currently continuing at the moment: Ninjas versus the shadow soldiers and the dead ninja of the Dark Dragon. One by one, it seemed as if the resistance was gaining a disadvantage, until a huge explosion caused most of the dragon's soldiers to disappear._

_Out on the scene came Kaito, Tadaaki, and Raiden, ready for battle. The Uchiha was currently overseeing the battlefield with his sharingan eyes when he saw that the West side was losing badly. He suddenly gave a nod to his teammates and each one of them jumped into the different directions they had agreed on. _

_The most defensive area was in the south and considering everything was fine, all of the three warriors had decided that they would split up; Tadaaki ran towards the East; Raiden to the North; and Kaito to the West where Kiyoto's castle stood._

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_**Tadaaki's Battle:**_

_The earth element user quickly ran toward the east where currently, Kiyoto's dead ninja army was popping out everywhere. He could see that all these dead zombies were once people that had life before Kiyoto decided to take them in, never to be heard from again. _

_A zombie suddenly came to attack a little boy that seemed lost; sand came up to block the attack as the kid cowered in fear. Seeing that no harm had come to him, Tadaaki came up toward the boy and calmly said, "You better leave; it's about to become pretty ugly out here." The little boy nodded and quickly ran off. _

_Soon enough more armies of the dead were coming up and Tadaaki and the others continued to fight back. Using his specialty, Tadaaki began forming handsigns for Earth Element: Raging Desert Sandstorm. The sand and dirt around him began to form into spears that were floating in the sky. Waiting for the moment to strike, he suddenly controlled each spear to land on its target, getting rid of half the army. The other ninja still continued fighting; each punch and kick showed how much determination they had. _

_The attack had come to no avail because more of the dead continued to come out. Using what time he had left before he would join his other teammates at the castle, Tadaaki tried to think of a strategy. He realized that someone behind all of this would have been able to control all these people, so in order to stop them, he would have to find the one controlling them.'_

_Tadaaki got onto all fours and began feeling the different chakra vibrations in the earth; he found a distinct one where he felt that this person was the one in charge of the dead. With a quick nod to tell them he was going, he left hoping that they would be able to handle the army for now. _

_A clearing came into view, and the redhead saw that his opponent was anticipating his appearance. The earth user knew who this was; Kiyoto's right-hand man, General Ryuu. This man was responsible for conquering all the lands for his master, Kiyoto and Tadaaki knew that he was not one to mess with. The general had this vicious appearance to him; he had a silver Mohawk with blood-shot red eyes. At the moment, he was standing in the middle of the clearing in a battle stance, waiting for the redhead to make the first move. _

_Taddaki started out by throwing some kunai and shuriken toward Ryuu, while the general blocked with his own weapons at a speed that was unbelievable. The earth user would have to make more of an effort if he had the intention to get rid of this pest. His next plan of attack would be to come to close range combat. Soon enough, his plan came to fruitation and he began by giving kicks and punches towards Ryuu. But unfortunately, the general was able to block all the hits with his amazing speed. Everything he (Tadaaki) tried, like roundhouse kicks could not even land a scratch on him. _

"_Hn……you make me laugh. Is this all you can do? I thought you were going to be a challenge, but I guess I overestimated you!" bellowed the silver-haired man._

"_Don't you ever underestimate me……" Tadaaki growled._

"_Well then, I'll just end this right now" replied Ryuu. All of a sudden, he began to transform into a three-horned demon with red skin. He looked very intimidating and his muscles showed a lot more. _

_Tadaaki, without thinking, charged right into the general's fire range, and right away, the red demon had shot out a blazing blue beam directly at the redhead. Luckily, the beam missed his heart by 3 inches, but she was still injured. Quickly, he decided to hide behind a tree to gain some time to think. __**'Hm……alright, in order to gain the advantage, I would have to stop his beams and his speed at the **__same time' thought the redhead. Quickly, he grabbed out a scroll. __**'Perfect'**_

"_Where is the great warrior now?! MWHAAA!! Come on out, it will only hurt for a minute!!" yelled Ryuu. _

_Out came Tadaaki and Ryuu began to shoot everything in sight with his three horns. It was quite the scene. Without the need of handsigns, the redhead summoned up the dirt from the ground to use it as a defense against Ryuu's beams of doom. With each beam, the sand came to his rescue. _

_The redhead had wanted this battle to end earlier, but with no choice he would at least have to end it quickly. Summoning up all the dirt and minerals from the ground he began to form sand shards. In a quick motion, he began sending the shards directly at Ryuu. It seemed that none were taking any affect, especially the one that hit the ground and created a hole. _

"_Hahaha….how pathetic! This is one of our great heroes? More like a zero!" Ryuu said trying to stifle a laugh._

_Suddenly, vines came out from the hole that was created and the general was stuck; his arms and legs were held back by the vines. On his face was pure shock._

"_You were too distracted by my shards to notice that I had disguised one of my summoning scrolls as one. You see, I purposely made that hole and I pretended to have bad aim, just to fool you. Your own downfall was underestimating your opponent" Tadaaki said calmly._

"_You forgot that my horns can still annihilate you so don't count yourself lucky!" the general bellowed._

"_Actually, while I was hiding behind the tree, I was considering this feature and I came to the conclusion to using these vines. You see, they have the special ability to absorb my opponent's chakra." _

"_Now, it's time to end this…….." the redhead said._

_Using the toughest minerals from the ground, Tadaaki was forming the sharpest and biggest shard in his arsenal. Getting into position, he aimed and controlled the shard to hit Ryuu directly in the chest. His rallying scream could be heard as he took his last breath. Getting down on all fours once again, he felt around for the vibrations of the zombies, but they were all gone._

'_Good thing I got him at that time, I was beginning to run out of chakra. Now, I better start heading towards the castle' thought Tadaaki. But before he would, he decided to take a rest to heal and inspect his injury._

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_**Raiden's Battle:**_

_The blue-eyed ninja quickly ran toward the North. The region was known to be mountainous and rugged, so the defense would have to be pretty strong. At the moment, the shadows were fighting against the ninja. By observation, Raiden could see that each attack was not effective towards them. Everything they tried, like throwing shuriken would just go through them. _

_Out of this whole group, the auburn-haired ninja was able to spot the captain of the ninja. The captain was a white-haired woman with dark-gray eyes. She was known as Aiko and she was currently lying down on the ground. It seemed that she was injured and could not get up and to make things worse, a shadow soldier was about to give her the final strike. Aiko began trying to make her body get up, with little enough strength she was just able to raise a kunai knife up to try to defend herself. The kunai managed to reflect a light that quickly distinguished the shadow. Raiden managed to see what happen and came to the conclusion that the light was their enemy. _

_He swiftly came to Aiko's side and helped her up. _

"_I'm alright. I can handle it from here." Said the Ninja Captain._

"_As far as I can tell, you don't look alright." Replied the auburn-haired idiot._

"_I said I'm fine. Now about stopping these shadows…….._she was cut off by Raiden……_. "Yeah, we have to find a way to get enough light to stop them."_

"_Wow……..a genius like you figured this out?" Aiko sarcastically said. _

"_Yep! Alright so I think I'll be able to create enough light by using lightning." said the baka, who didn't realize that Aiko was being sarcastic._

"_Your hopeless………….never mind……….so what's your plan?"_

"_Well….hehehe………I just haven't figured it out yet." Nervously answered Raiden._

"_YOU DIDN'T COME UP WITH A PLAN YET?! IF WE WEREN'T IN BATTLE RIGHT NOW, I WOULD PUNCH YOU INTO ANOTHER DIMENSION!!" screamed the white-haired temptress._

"_Don't worry, I got this…………..just get all the shadows in the same place and just keep them distracted, alright?"Raiden said as he ran off in the opposite direction._

"_Fine…………" replied Aiko._

_Thinking about the current situation, plus the fact that he still had to join Kaito at the castle, Raiden had to use his head rather than jump into action without thinking. __**'Alright, now considering the fact that their weakness is light, how do I use my lightning to create such a source of light?' **__the auburn-haired ninja asked himself. __**'WAIT! I got it!'**_

_Raiden decided to make the handsigns for an invisibility jutsu in order to not get spotted by the shadows. At best, his only shot to create enough light would be to use lightning rods. Quickly, but silently, he created three shadow clones; the shadow clones would then go spread into different directions and plant a kunai in the ground, so in total, there should be 4 kunais in the ground. _

_Right away, each clone ran into different directions. Once each kunai was put into place, the real Raiden supervised the whole area making sure that Aiko was able to keep all the shadows in the same area. Seeing that all the preparations were ready, he summoned up his lightning and powered up each rod with it. Calling upon all his strength, he used the powered up rods' lightning to shoot up into the middle of the sky to create a dome of light. Right away, the shadows were screaming and disappearing. All the ninja in the area, we not expecting that one person could actually do that, but then again, he was one of the three warriors. _

_With a nod, the lightning-user ran off towards the castle. __**'That was easier said than done. But I better get ready for the big battle'**_

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**_Well, hoped you guys enjoyed the first part of the battle!! And be free to review!! :)_**

**_Coming up next will be the great battle that will determine everything!!_**

Preview:

_Uchiha Kaito was currently scouting out the western side. Any minute now, he was expecting his teammates to meet him here. He knew that there was no way he could achieve this by himself, but what he did know, was that he would do anything to end this once and for all. From a distance, he saw Tadaaki and Raiden advancing near the castle. Kaito ow knew, that here was his moment; it was time for the battle to start._


	3. Prologue:part 2: The Great Battle:part 2

**:)**

**'...' thoughts**

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**Legend in The Making**

_**Prologue: part 2: The Great Battle: part 2**_

_Uchiha Kaito was currently scouting out the western side. Night had taken over and the light of the moon was the only thing keeping them from total darkness. Any minute now, he was expecting his teammates to meet him here. He knew that there was no way he could achieve this by himself, but what he did know, was that he would do anything to end this once and for all. From a distance, he saw Tadaaki and Raiden advancing near the castle. Kaito now knew that here was his moment; it was time for the battle to start._

'_**Alright, I'm ready'**__ thought the Uchiha._

_The sharingan-wielder quickly sprinted toward his friends. In less then three seconds, he was standing right before them. His face had changed from calm to serious appearance; his blood-red eyes were shining brightly, ready for battle, while his hands were clenched to his sides, awaiting the great battle that would come forth. _

"_Let's go!" said the Uchiha as he took out his onyx-black katana and pointed towards the castle. His friends followed behind as they entered the gates of the castle. The home of Kiyoto was an unpleasant one; it had a desolate yard full of skeletons along with dying plants and moss that surrounded all the doors and walls of the castle. It was a sight to behold, and it seemed that all his followers were fighting away from this area. _

_Distracted by the home, they all almost missed the horrifying laugh of the Dark Dragon. Out came Kiyoto, the tyrant who had been ruling for more than two centuries. He was a huge dragon; if he was standing on his two feet, instead of four, he would be about 300 feet. He had gruesome features: piercing red eyes, black, hard scales, and sharp, golden claws that were known to slice your own life away. On top of his head, there were his red horns and his teeth were razor sharp. He was pretty intimidating. Suddenly, he bellowed, "MWHAHAHA……..I see you defeated my soldiers, but you think you can handle me?"_

"_Enough! We're here to give this world peace and we're here to finally rid the world of you!! Believe it!!" yelled the lightning-user while he also gave a thumbs up._

"_Well then, get ready for the battle of your lives." Kiyoto said as he gave them an evil smirk._

"_I'm up for a challenge." the Uchiha said as he gave his famous smirk. The ground began to move as if an earthquake was shaking the world. An army of strange, lizard-like creatures with wings came out; they were all surrounded by thousands of them._

"_Aww man……I thought this was going to be so much easier." Complained the baka._

"_You'll see that they aren't the ordinary armies I usually have, but they've been experimented on. They are all the perfect soldier; they have both the powers of my shadows and zombies, along with some of my chakra. You would be a fool to fight against them and you're out-numbered." Boasted the Dark Dragon. "In fact, I_

"_I'll give my army a test run….how about I let them fly off to fight your other comrades?" The lizard-like soldiers began to split up into swarms, taking flight to all directions. As soon as the Dark Dragon said this, he began to fly away in the distance._

"_Well, about the complaint you made earlier Raiden, they never said it would be easy. This just makes me more excited." Replied the chosen one with one of his famous smirks._

"_Hmm …I agree, what more fun." Tadaaki calmly said._

_One by one, each of the Three Legendary Warriors split into different areas to give each other enough room to fight. _

'_**This is easier said than done'**__ the auburned-haired fighter thought as he punched and kicked each lizard one after another. Raising the bar, he calmly stood as he concentrated his lightning-based chakra into his left-hand to use Chidori and also as a bonus, he used his chakra as a cloak that created the lighting to move throughout his body. Using his amazing speed, he ran through the army, trying to strike most of the soldiers. As quick as they disappeared, they also kept coming back. _

'_**Hn…..I see, we're going to need more than our powers to defeat all these soldiers; we need some back-up, which is at the moment not going to happen because everyone else is also busy with these things. Along with this problem, this will weaken ourselves, and in a worse case scenario, we won't have enough strength to defeat him. Either way, it's a stalemate then, but then again, I'm willing to put my life on the line.'**__ Thought the Uchiha. Quickly he threw weapons at about a hundred of lizards that tied them together due to the string tied to the weapons. As soon as they were trapped, he made the handsigns for **Fire Element: Dragon's Claw **_**(1)**_**,** which burnt them, but unfortunately, they still came back to life._

'_**This is bad…….at this rate, we'll have used most of our chakra. I'm about half-full right now and with each attack they'll keep coming back for more. The others probably have figured this out already, but I hate to say this, but we're going to need help'**__ thought Tadaaki as he used his control over the earth to hold the lizards still to strike them with rocks, trees, etc. _

_As it may have been serendipity, Aiko and an army of ninjas came out of nowhere._

'_**WHAT THE?!'**__ thought Raiden as he punched another lizard._

"_Thought I'd let you guys have all the fun?" said Aiko with a playful smile. _

"_B-but, huh, how?" replied the blue-eyed dufus. _

"_Oh, come on, well to put it short,……_punch_…. after you defeated those shadows….._kick_…, me and my group began to head toward the castle, but then we saw these things and we used the invisibility jutsu that you had taught us. Then when everywhere was clear, we decided to come out and help." boasted the white-haired captain._

"_Nice of you to come, but forget about this whole coming together thing because we kind of have a situation here, if you haven't noticed. We have to come up with another plan." the earth-user said as he formed a giant hand of sand that hit and threw a lizard one after another._

"_Right. I say that you three go face Kiyoto, while my group will take care of these reptiles." Replied the dark-gray eyed woman._

"_No way! You can't………….._cut off by Aiko_, "Yes we can Raiden! Don't worry about us. You have more things to worry about. Just remember, we're all counting on you……………..AND you guys have more strength than you know. Don't second guess yourselves, give it your all. And one last thing: GOOD LUCK!!" Aiko said as she kicked another lizard in the gut._

'_**I hope they'll be fine'**__ thought Kaito. All three warriors once again headed to wherever Kiyoto would be. __**'Guessing from his trajectory, he should be about 300 meters to the east'**__ thought the Uchiha Lord._

_Following close behind him, all three headed to the exact area where they would find their biggest challenge yet. As Kaito had calculated, Kiyoto was standing upon his two feet, awaiting the heroes' arrival. Splitting up once again, each warrior had communicated their plans telepathically. _

_Each one decided to use each of their powers at the exact same moment at different points of the dragon's body. _

_Tadaaki began to control the earth around him to keep Kiyoto held firmly still, while Kaito, sharingan-on, started charging full force and front-on with an orb of chakra that combined water and lightning and Raiden was concentrating his chakra into both his hands which started to seem like claws made out of his lightning chakra. Both of them used their power over lightning to use it to pick up more speed for their attacks. _

_At the exact same time, Kaito managed to hit Kiyoto right in the chest, while Raiden slashed at his backside. A huge explosion could be seen and heard. All three heroes were thrown back to land gracefully on their feet. Once the smoke had cleared, they saw that the Dark Dragon was still standing._

"_You think something like that could kill me?! How pathetic……I thought you three would be more of a challenge, but I guess I was wrong. Time for my turn" the Dark Dragon said with an evil spark in his eyes._

_Suddenly, dark, black vines came from the ground and clung onto the bodies of the heroes. The vines began to shock each one of them until finally letting them go. Right before their eyes, all of the three warriors saw themselves in front of them. __**'Clones'**__ thought Tadaaki. These clones were only mere replicas, but the problem was that they had the exact same abilities that each one of the three warriors had. But they were blackish-gray with red eyes._

_So at the moment each one of the warriors was going to fight against each other on a one on one battle. The real Uchiha Kaito began by throwing shuriken while his clone also did the same. Both turned on their sharingan and started a heated battle that first started with taijutsu, while leading up to ninjutsu that went from fire style jutsu to lightning, to water, and then earth. It was quite intense._

_Tadaaki was also having trouble with his opponent. Both were using the earth around them. Neither had to lift a finger, but they had to put on a lot of concentration to control the earth. Attack after attack ended into a stalemate, until his clone was able to find a blindspot and threw him into the air and slammed him into the ground. _

_Raiden was currently fighting his clone with his sword. Both slashed back and forth trying to find a way to go through the other's defenses. The clone managed to get dirt into Raiden's eyes and was able to give a little cut onto his arm. It seems that each hero had some difficulties with each of their clones. _

* * *

_(At the moment they are telepathically speaking to each other; think in mind that they are still fighting while having this conversation):_

_Raiden: 'Man……this is killer……how are we going to get rid of ourselves?...Wow never thought I'd actually ever say that'_

_Tadaaki: 'Alright, now to get back to more important issues, we have to discover a way to defeat them in order to get the chance to get to Kiyoto………….Kaito-san, any ideas?'_

_Raiden: 'Yeah, it would be a great moment for you to come up with your brilliant plan right about now!'_

_Kaito: 'I might have one, just listen closely'_

_Raiden: 'I'm all ears!' ……….Tadaaki and Kaito sweatdrop._

_Kaito; 'Alright, you've probably already noticed that we're no match against ourselves; even if we know all our moves, that won't be good enough…….so my plan would have to be….._

_Raiden: 'I get it! We'll just have to switch opponents!'_

_Kaito: 'Exactly and I'm pretty sure we all know each of our weaknesses, right?'_

_Raiden and Tadaaki: 'Right!' (end of conversation)_

_As soon as their discussion was over, Kaito would fight Tadaaki (clone), Tadaaki would fight Raiden (clone), and Raiden would fight Kaito (clone)._

* * *

_**Kaito vs. Tadaaki (clone):**_

_Kaito first started off by throwing some kunai and shuriken at the imposter. Each weapon landed a few feet away from the clone, and without any realization, Tadaaki had no idea that the weapons had paper bombs. As soon as the realization hit him, it was too late as Kaito set off the explosives. The clone was not ready for this attack, so he was unable to form an earth shield before the blast would hit him; this resulted him in being blown into the air where the Uchiha used his fast speed to come from behind, give him a chakra-powered punch and kick in the stomach, which sent him to the ground face-first. The clone was defeated in a heat-beat._

* * *

_**Tadaaki vs. Raiden (clone):**_

_At the moment it was at a standstill. The earth-user was trying to figure out a way to use his speicality against the lightning shield that was currently surrounding the Raiden clone, which protected it from any of the attacks Tadaaki had used. He had thought of every scenario, but could not come up with anything. It finally struck him; he could create lightning rods from sand that would be able to absorb the lightning that would give him a chance to strike. Seeing his chance, he used some minerals and dirt mixed together that he quickly made shoot up from the ground. Quickly enough, the rods worked and at long last, once all the lightning from the clone's system was gone, Tadaaki went in for the kill as he used Sand Burial. _

* * *

_**Raiden vs. Kaito (clone):**_

_Raiden was giving all he got, but he had to admit, Kaito was no easy opponent. This clone really was like the real thing; with each attack the clone was able to find a blindspot in each one. __**'Damn him for having the sharingan.' **_

"_Need some assistance?" said Kaito and Tadaaki at the same time._

"_It would be nice, but I get to give the final blow!! Said Raiden with a kind smile._

_Once he said this, Kaito began to think out a plan and gave them both orders telepathically. Tadaaki held the Uchiha clone in place, while Kaito would use his special powers where he could copy any kekei genkai desired. At a moments notice, he opened his eyes and veins popped out. It seemed that he had chosen the byakugan for this; once adjusted to the Byakugan, he began to hit all 64 pressure points on the clone, which blocked out his whole chakra network. Unable to move, Raiden came in for the final move; once again, he used his large lightning chakra claws that he had used on Kiyoto. This time it worked and all the clones were gone. _

"_I see that I've been underestimating you, but don't think you'll defeat me that easily!' bellowed the Dark Dragon._

"_Let's do this!' said Raiden._

_On signal, their plan started. Different colored chakra began to pour from each of their bodies as their chakra began to form a cloak around their bodies._

_just for some special info, all three were born as half-demons. (as in one of their parents were full demons)_

_Kaito had a red chakra cloak; Raiden had blue and Tadaaki had green. All Three Legendary Warriors were powered up. Kiyoto started off by blowing flames around the battle field, so that there would be no chance of escape. The Dark Dragon also called upon some of his lizard army to combine power with him which resulted in an even more gruesome looking villain. _

"_Now that's just wrong." Raiden said._

_All three warriors quickly started attacking the dragon at different parts of his body. They were all trying to find a weak spot, but it seemed that because of his newly equipped powers, his black scales were stronger than steel. Each attack ended in no avail. Unfortunately, they weren't planning on something like this to happen, which meant that they had to come together and regroup. _

"_MWHAHAHA…..you see, you were going to lose from the start, so why bother trying. Giving your lives for all these pathetic people is worth nothing! There's no point!" Kiyoto said as he slammed Kaito into the ground with his strong claws. Attack after attack, Kiyoto was just going after Kaito; it seemed like the Uchiha was trying to avoid every one of them, but he was beginning to run out of chakra._

"_You're wrong…….._taking a breath_……As long as there are people in need, I will risk everything in my being to do what's right." The Uchiha said as he was shaking while rising from the ground. _

_Out of everyone's shocked faces, Kaito's chakra began to change into the 7-colored rainbow chakra. His sharingan also changed into the same seven colors. Both his teammates were amazed at how he was willing to do anything to stop Kiyoto. By just watching at how he was still standing after every attack, they were even more determined to fight off this being. They also felt a surge of power in them as if they hadn't even fought yet; they were all recharged with newly stored chakra inside each one of them. _

"_I-iimpossible!" stuttered Kiyoto. "Even if you do have this newly found strength, there's no way you can defeat me; I'll make sure of it."_

'_**This power, it's nothing like I ever felt before. Now, I know that I have the strength to carry on'**__ thought Kaito._

_Now powered up, they began to formulate a plan. Once they came up with one, they once again split up into different directions. __**'Now we have to do this perfectly on time.'**__ thought Tadaaki. The earth-user once again used the ground around him to hold Kiyoto in place, while the lightning-user sent shockwaves throughout the dragon's body to paralyze him. __**'This paralization will only last a few minutes, so Kaito better hurry up' **__thought Raiden.__On cue, the Uchiha came out of the open and attached a chakra draining collar onto the neck of the dragon. Kiyoto was struggling against the collar and the earth that was restraining him; finally the paralization wore off and the collar was draining most of his chakra, but he still had some reservoirs left over. Once he broke out of the sand, all three warriors jumped out of his way. _

"_What did you do?!" roared the Dark Dragon._

"_It's simple really……we made this collar, which combines all three of our chakras; by doing so, this collar will be able to absorb you of your extra power that you had obtained from your army. This means that you're not as strong as you were before. Now it's time for the real fight." Tadaaki replied with a smirk._

_As soon as that was said, all three warriors came with full force toward the front of Kiyoto's body with chakra filled punches. The dragon was instantly thrown backwards, hitting the ground. Instantaneously, the lightning-user came forward to use shadow clones. With a combination, Raiden had two of his clones stand on both his sides; by concentrating his chakra, he was able to form chidori on his left-hand, while also having rasengan on his right. With a strong push from Tadaaki's vines, his speed was even more increased, as he made a direct hit onto Kiyoto's chest. The dragon was pushed farther away and right away, Kaito came in using his fireball jutsu along with being able to create a tidal wave of mud. _

_Kiyoto seemed badly injured, but he was still able to get up; he was still strong enough to go on. "Alright, now it's my turn" the dragon said with a sinister smirk. He started off with fire surrounding the whole area. Along came a powerful slash from his claws, which created a wind of chakra. This was able to push them back, allowing the dragon more space. He then started to throw fireballs everywhere, which the heroes barely managed to dodge. The heat of these fireballs were so intense that when they hit the ground, they exploded. _

_Deciding to stop this attack, the Uchiha lord formed the handsigns to Water Element: Tsunami Storm; this technique allowed him to summon up water that created a huge wave that took out the fire and it also covered the whole field with water as well. Kiyoto was a little wet, so Raiden decided to take his chance and summon up lightning from the sky, which hit its target. Kiyoto still had enough strength to fight back, so he decided to fly into the sky and fire more fireballs balls, combined with powerful winds to increase the intensity of the heat. These fires were a lot more dangerous, and it was so strong that it caused the water to steam up and evaporate. Being able to also control fire, the sharingan-wielder used this advantage to send the fireballs back at the attacker. _

'_**We need to finish this quickly'**__ thought Kaito. While having this in mind, the Uchiha concentrated chakra into the palm of his hand into the form of a 7-colored rasengan. Once completed he ran quickly and struck the dragon. __**'Now the plan has to come into play'**__ thought the sharingan-wielder._

_Quickly, by controlling the water, the Uchiha moved the water to get a hold onto the Dark Dragon. Also coming up, Tadaaki decided to use the earth to also grab onto the dragon, while Raiden created chakra chains conducted with lightning, in order to hold Kiyoto down. They all managed to pin him to the ground and now their plan has come to culmination. _

"_Tadaaki, Raiden, you guys know what to do! Hurry and help me create the defensive barrier and the sealing circle!" yelled Kaito._

_All three began to form a triangle around the Dark Dragon and by concentrating they managed to create a dome-shaped defensive barrier that keeps things in, and unneeded things out. Once done with the barrier, they began to make the sealing circle by first using their own blood to create the kanji signs and symbols. Once it was completed, they got into the same triangular formation around Kiyoto. They then began to form the handsigns for the sealing technique; they planned on sealing Kiyoto into another dimension, but the only problem would have to be that it would take a lot of concentration and chakra in order to do this. They all called upon their inner demons to give them strength to do this. _

"_Guys, don't lose any concentration! Especially you Raiden! If anyone is not focused enough, this will not work! Understand?" yelled Kaito._

_The Dark Dragon was continuing to struggle against his restraints; he tried to break each restraint in half, but he found that he didn't have enough chakra to do so. _

_After a long moment in time, the Three Legendary Warriors managed to summon up the black hole to the other dimension. __**'So this is how it ends'**__ thought Kiyoto. The three ninja used everything they had to control the black hole and to lead Kiyoto toward the entrance along with his armies. "Hmm………so this is my end, huh? You think you've won? I'll give you a promise; I vow to you that I'll be back!! roared the Dark Dragon._

_Before Kiyoto's whole body disappeared into the hole, he said to them with a sinister smirk, "I will return! And I'll get my vengeance on the world, just you wait! But before I go, Uchiha Kaito, I curse your whole clan! I warn you, thousands of years from now, one of your very own will be the one to set me free!" Then he was gone; the barrier disappeared and the sky brightened up. _

_All three of then were exhausted. Raiden was very tired, but didn't want to show it, but he ended up lying on the ground, taking a deep breath. "Woohoo!! WE DID IT!! BELIEVE IT!!" screamed the lightning-user in celebration. Tadaaki and Raiden both seemed happy, but something about what last thing Kiyoto said got to Kaito. _

"_Kaito-san, you don't seem that excited that we were victorious" said Tadaaki._

"_Tadaaki-san, it's just about what he said………….I just wonder if that would really happen. What if Kiyoto came back thousands of years from now? Who would be the one to protect this world?" replied Kaito._

"_Come on Kaito, you know well as I do that we've done our part in this world. If he does come back, I'm sure that thousands of years from now, our descendants would be able to handle it. They'll be strong enough. Remember when we were kids, weren't you the one who always said to always have faith in others and to never give up? That's the reason why my ninja way is to protect those close to me." replied Raiden._

"_I've got to say, that was pretty deep, Raiden." Tadaaki calmly said._

"_Arigatou." Kaito said with a grateful smile. _

"_Hey you guys!! YOU DID IT!!" Aiko said as she came running down toward all the Three Legendary Heroes to give them a hug. But Kaito couldn't help but think what his friends said. Inside, he felt like he had accomplished his life dream and he now knew that their descendants would have to do this all over again, but he felt that they would be even more successful._

_All three warriors joined up with Aiko and her group; and they all continued walking toward the village to celebrate._

_Finally, peace was restored and the battle was over. In later years, each area was split into the great nations; each with trained ninja._

* * *

(1) Fire Style: Dragon's Claw: The user of this technique is able to draw chakra from within them, and change that chakra into fire which comes out in the shape of a dragon's claw that slashes its opponent while also burning its opponent.

I enjoyed writing this, but I would also love it if you would review!! :)

Until next time,

katarauchiha653719

Note/facts for the readers:

I thought that some of you would be confused once I start the real plot of the story, so I just wanted to explain some things for you guys.

To start off I'd like to inform all of you out there that there are two parts of the Uchiha clan. Those two parts are the normal Uchiha clan and the Royal Family. You see the Royal Family lives to protect the secret of the sharingan, while also they are there to protect the other Uchihas. Uchiha Kaito came from the Royal Family which was why he became Lord Uchiha. Orginally, the one that started the Uchiha clan was Kaito's great, great, many greats grandfather, who also came up with the Uchiha's techniques. When Kiyoto cursed the whole clan, he mainly meant the Royal Family.

I would also like to give you some info about the powers of the chosen one. As you already know, the chosen one has control over all the elements, but they also have the ability to use different kekei genkais (bloodline limits), just like how Kaito was able to use the Byakugan. The chosen one also has other mysterious powers, but that will be revealed later in the story.


	4. Chapter 1: The Beginning

Well, here's the start of the story. And i just want to first start off with dedicating this story to wolfgirl539, who was the one who inspired to write. I just had all these ideas in my mind and she was the one who encouraged me to write. I just really want to say thanks since we're like partners in crime :)

Anyways on with the story. Keep in mind that I don't own any of the Naruto characters except my OC's. (I do not own the song at the end either; the song, I learned from you is origingally sung by Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus.)

Now, i hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

"AHH!!!! AHH!!!"

"Come on, almost there." Said a nurse.

Screams could be heard from the delivery room of the hospital. Currently, Lord Uchiha Wairi's wife was giving birth to twins that would be the heirs of the Uchiha Clan. Finally, about more than 7 hours, Uchiha Chihiro gave birth to a girl and boy. They both decided to name the boy, Haku, and the girl, Katara. Little baby Haku had deep, dark-gray eyes just like his father, while his sister, Katara had dark blackish blue eyes like her mother. Both had the same colored skin as their mother. Both kids were laughing and smiling with each playing with the other.

Uchiha Chihiro was a wise, kind woman with the looks to go with it. She had beautiful blackish-blue hair that reached to her waist along with eyes to match with pale skin that brought out these features even more. She had first met her husband when they were just kids, going to the same academy in the Hidden Leaf Village. She worked hard in the academy and was a great fighter and strategist. They had grown up to be best friends and ended up to be lovers. Chihiro used to be a captain of the ANBU, but retired to take the responsibilities of the clan and her new family.

Uchiha Wairi grew up in the Royal Family of the Uchiha clan. He started to train at a young age and got the sharingan at the age of 4. From there, he was the top rookie at the academy and became a chuunin at 8 and later went on to become a Jounin and ANBU captain before he took over as the leader of the clan. He had dark-gray eyes that showed how wise and kind he was. He was very understanding and considerate toward his clan and the village. Wairi had dark black hair that framed his face; he also has tan skin and wears glasses at times.

What set the twins apart was not only their gender, but Katara had a dragon mark around her left wrist that started from her palm. Both her parents were shocked to see that she had this, but they thought that it was nothing. But at the same time, Lord Uchiha had a feeling that this was the curse mark that came from the great legend thousands of years ago.

Wairi and Chihiro were both on the bed looking at how beautiful their children were. Wairi was currently holding both his kids and Haku and Katara were both trying to copy him. Their father cleverly thought of something that they couldn't do which was use the sharingan. Once he did this, his kids were trying to do the same thing; they both seemed upset, but suddenly, they actually were able to, which shocked both the parents.

"I-immpossible……….that's amazing!" Chihiro exclaimed.

"I guess natural talent runs through our blood, huh?" replied Wairi.

In came the grandparents and they couldn't get over how cute they both their grandkids were. Suddenly, Wairi's grandfather, Uchiha Paku, came through the door exclaiming that there was an attack on the clan. "Wairi, there's a nine-tailed demon dragon attacking our clan right now. Currently, the leaf nin and our clan members are trying to take control over the situation. We need back-up!"

"I'll be right out there!" replied Lord Uchiha. At the moment, Chihiro had on a worried face and didn't want her husband to leave her side. "Don't worry, I'll be back" Wairi said as he gave his wife a kiss before leaving. His grandfather, Paku, also followed behind his grandson toward the spot where the demon dragon was. It was a wonder to behold; the dragon enveloped the power and number of tails the nine-tailed fox that had attacked a few months ago. The dragon was a female with sharp claws, dark blue and silver scales, with blazing, fierce blue eyes. It was currently roaring and growling while also breathing out fire.

"We need to find a way to stop this beast. Do you have any ideas Paku-sama?" asked his grandson.

"I have an idea, but it's a big risk. You know how the fourth was able to seal the demon inside a new-born child? I feel that I should do the same by using Katara." Replied Paku.

"WHAT!! There must be another way………but why Katara?" asked Wairi.

"I noticed her interesting birthmark and before her birth, I had dreams of this happening and in them, I believe it was meant for her to have this demon sealed inside of her."

"But that would mean you would be sacrificing your life…………why would you do that?" asked the Uchiha.

"Grandson, I care about the clan and village as much as you do, and this is the only way." Replied Paku.

With the current situation at hand, Wairi had no opportunity to argue back, and he answered with a silent urge to retort, "Well, I can't stop you…………..but I'll go get Katara. And also, good luck Paku-sama" Said Wairi.

They both separated into different directions; Wairi would go grab his daughter for the sealing technique, while his grandfather would distract the demon. Paku came onto the battlefield and bit his thumb to use his blood. He then put his blood on his arm and slammed his hand on the ground to summon the frog boss, Gamabunta.

"So what's up with summoning me here, Paku?" Gamabunta said in a very cranky manner.

"We're going to keep this demon distracted until my great-granddaughter comes here; I'm going to seal the demon inside of her in order to save this village." Replied the old geezer.

"Seems like everytime people summon me, it's for sealing demons, huh? Well, I can't say that I agree with this, but what ever works I guess." Said the frog boss.

"Let's go then!" said Paku. The dragon known as Hikari, the giver of destruction, was terrorizing everything in her sight. The dragon saw them both in sight and decided to attack. The dragon took to the sky, so Gamabunta decided to jump up and hit her with a water ball. He then followed with some oil, while Paku formed the handsigns for the fireball jutsu that came in contact with the oil, which created an explosion. But at last, Wairi came with Uchiha Katara, an heiress to the Uchiha clan, wrapped up in a light-blue blanket.

"Ojiisan, be careful and I'll miss you greatly." Lord Uchiha said while he gave his grandfather a hug.

"Do not worry, but I want my great-grandaughter to be treated like a normal person and as a hero." Said Paku.

Uchiha Paku then stood atop Gamabunta's head with Katara in his arms. He quickly formed the seals for the technique and the demon was slowly being sealed into Katara's body. Paku was now gone and Gamabunta handed back Wairi's daughter to him and then poofed away. Everyone that helped out was now in a moment of silence to give respect to Uchiha Paku. Wairi left to go to the hospital with his daughter in his hands.

* * *

**Three years later:**

"Haku-niisan!!" screamed his sister, Katara.

"Nani, Katara-chan?" replied Haku.

"Otousan wants us to go to the training grounds, so come on." the little 3-year old girl said as she took hold of her brother's hand.

It was unbelievable at how fast they both had grown-up. They both started training at age 2 and now at the age of 3, they became well-rounded in all the different categories: genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu, while at the same time they obtained extra training to be medic ninja from the Legendary Sannin herself, Tsunade. Along with that, their sharingan were both at its strongest as they spent much time perfecting their eyes.

Katara now had blackish-blue hair, which was short and layered; her hair was just an inch above her shoulders. She was known as a kind, spirited girl that was an Uchiha prodigy, even though she and her brother didn't even attend the academy yet. She was currently wearing a light-blue, long-sleeved shirt with the Uchiha fan and a gray skort. Her brother also had grown; he now had black hair with some blue highlights; his hair was usually spiked up in all directions, which resembled like a chicken. He was wearing a black long-sleeved, high-collared shirt with the Uchiha symbol along with white shorts. They both were wearing black ninja sandals and their shuirken holsters. Both twins were known as Uchiha prodigies; and although they were both different, Haku held the same kind heart as his sister.

They both arrived at the back of their huge Uchiha mansion, where they saw their father, mother, and grandfather. Their father could see that they were both excelling at their current ninja training. Due to their high stamina, and fast speed, they both were able to use the fireball jutsu that was well respected in their clan; and also a lot more different jutsus along with perfect aim. They only had started training at age two, yet it seemed like they've been doing this all their lives.

"Otousan, we're here!" exclaimed the Uchiha heiress.

Chuckle……."So I see." Replied their father with a smile. "There will be no training for today, but I just want to inform both of you that you will start going to the academy when you both turn 4, alright? And don't forget about the banquet we have today."

"YES!!!" screamed Haku and Katara at the same time, while pumping their fists up in the air.

"You're both excused." Replied their father.

"Sayonara otousan, okaasan, and ojiisan." They both said as they left the mansion.

"Haku-kun, what do you want to do today?" asked his sister while she was getting a piggy-back ride from him.

"Katara-chan, like I said a million times before, I don't know."

"Hey, Haku-kun!!!" a voice from afar said.

"Wataru-kun…………what do you want?" asked Haku

"Some of us wanted you to join in on our hide and seek game, so will you?" asked Wataru.

"Can my sister come?" the Uchiha heir asked back.

Wataru looked at Haku's sister and had the same look that all the other people had: fear. "S-s-sorry Haku, but it's just for guys" Wataru said, but he was just making up an excuse.

"Gomen, I can't just leave my sister alone………..**interrupted by his sister: **"Haku, I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I'll be fine, don't worry……..and anyways, I wanted to practice that new fire technique that father taught us, so I guess it'll give me more time to figure it out………..just go on ahead ok? And have fun for me!" answered Katara.

"You sure?" asked her brother

"yep!" said Katara. Haku allowed his sister to get off his back and before he left, he gave her a big hug.

**

* * *

**

'**What's wrong with me………..I'm always alone. It's all this stupid birth mark and the fact because that there's this demon inside me. It's not fair.'** Thought Katara has she tried hard not to cry as she ran to her favorite bridge in the village, but she couldn't hold back the tears as she sat down and just cried her heart out.

Even though she came from the Prestigious Royal Family, each time she was in public, they always gave her the same look: hatred and disgust. Even the kids wouldn't play with her; each time her brother was always asked to play with the other kids, but he always turned them down, until Katara would tell him that she would be fine. She always felt like an outcast. but she was at least happy that her brother was considerate enough to be there for her.

"Hey, don't cry." Said a kind, gentle voice. At first, the voice startled the heiress as she turned around to see a young boy, about her age.

"W-who are you?" asked the heiress.

"Here, first let me help you up and then I'll tell you," the mysterious boy said as he put out his hand to help her up. "Alright……so to start off……..I saw that you were crying so I decided to follow and see if I could cheer you up. By the way, my name is Uchiha Sasuke" the boy said with a kind smile.

"Oh, you're an Uchiha too?! Gomen ….I forgot to introduce myself; my name is Uchiha Katara."

"Nice to meet you………so do you want to come over to my house and hangout?" asked Sasuke.

"Umm……..sure!" Katara happily replied.

Just then, Katara noticed that behind Sasuke, there was her brother. Her new friend noticed her gaze and looked behind him. He couldn't believe it, it looked like his twin! "Haku-niisan! I want you to meet my new friend, Uchiha Sasuke and Sasuke, this is my twin brother, Haku. Did you want to hangout with us, Haku? And why are you here?"

"Sure I'll hangout with you guys and I left because I didn't want you to feel lonely."

* * *

All three Uchihas headed to an Uchiha compound that was near a big lake. They all stepped into the big home and Katara and Haku met up with a lady that they assumed to be Sasuke's mother.

"Okaasan, I brought some new friends over."

"How nice……what are their names?" asked his mother.

"Katara and Haku." Replied Sasuke.

"Oh, you must be Lord Wairi's children, am I correct?" asked Uchiha Mikoto.

"Hai!" Haku and Katara replied simultaneously.

"Well, welcome to our home and I hope you three have fun………oh, Sasuke……..you still have to train with your brother, alright?"

"Hai………I'll find him right now." Replied Sasuke. "Gomen, but I totally forgot that when I was on my way home, I was suppose to train with my brother, but then I saw you, Katara."

"That's no problem, we can wait. Besides, I want to see you train" Katara kindly replied back with a kind smile.

All three kids arrived to the backyard that had a huge lake and lots of space to train. At the training grounds, Katara had spotted an older looking boy and she assumed that the boy was Sasuke's brother. "Sasuke-kun, I think your brother is over there." the Uchiha heiress pointed out.

Out came a boy about the age of nine with a leaf headband. He was pretty tall and had strange lines on his face; he was wearing a gray, long-sleeved shirt and white shorts along with black ninja sandals. He had a kind smile on and said, "Sasuke you're late……….and who are they?"

"Itachi-niisan, these are my new friends, Katara and Haku……….and gomen nasai." Replied the 4-year old. Itachi smiled back at them and gave them a nod of acknowledgement.

"Let's just get started…………come." Itachi said calmly. Sasuke's brother was currently showing him how to throw a shuriken in order to hit the target dummy. Katara was closely watching, but at the same time, she couldn't believe that his brother was Uchiha Itachi; of course, he was also known as a prodigy, who had passed the academy in a year, which was quite impressive and this was one of Katara's heroes.

Without any realization, Katara had no idea that a kunai knife was headed right for her; when she saw that it was coming, her reaction wasn't fast enough, and she got ready to get hit. **'Ok…….where's the pain already?'** thought the heiress. Out of complete shock, Katara saw that Itachi had managed to use his speed to deflect the weapon.

"Are you alright?" asked the 9-year old prodigy.

"Yes, and arigatou.' Replied the little girl with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"OH MAN!!! Katara!! We have to get back home to get ready for the banquet." Haku nearly screamed , while also panicking,

"Haku! You're right! OH, we're going to have to run there! Umm…………………gomen Sasuke-kun, Itachi-san, but we forgot about this banquet we're having at our place, but we would like to invite you and your family……………….so Ja ne!!" Katara said as she and her brother quickly sprinted towards their home.

* * *

The Uchiha heiress was currently putting on her kimono for the banquet. Her mother was finishing tying up her obi and she stepped back to see her little daughter in a dark blue kimono with white doves and light blue cherry blossoms with a silver obi. Her hair was short, so Chihiro decided to allow her daughter to leave her hair down. Uchiha Chihiro was wearing a snow-white kimono with a golden dragon and silver obi, while her hair was up in a traditional bun. Lord Uchiha was dressed up in a traditional, plain kimono that was dark blue with the Uchiha fan on the back. Haku also was wearing a similar outfit to his father, except his was in black.

This banquet was in celebration for the three-year anniversary of the attack on the clan from the nine-tailed dragon. Everyone throughout the clan was going to be there, but most importantly, the 3rd hokage was going to attend. The final details of the preparations were being put up in the mansion; the whole place was decorated in various colors with different shades of lamps to illuminate the whole home. Guests started to come in and the first family to come was Sasuke's. Lord Uchiha and his wife greeted all their guests and started to talk to them as well. At long last, the 3rd hokage arrived with some guards and everyone in the clan greeted him. Lord Uchiha was showing him around and introduced him to everyone; when he stopped at his kids, he also stopped to introduce them to the 3rd.

"Haku, Katara, I would like you to meet the 3rd hokage." Said the Uchiha leader.

"Nice to meet you hokage-sama." Replied Katara and Haku.

"Likewise; well, these must be the amazing shinobi you've been telling me about Wairi." The 3rd said to the Uchiha. Their grandfather, Uchiha Taji came into the conversation knowing that his grandkids wanted to get away from this talk, so he was helping them out. Before they left, he gave them a wink.

The heirs began to walk away from the conversation; Katara was especially excited to find her first new friend. Instantly, she found him with his family; his father looked very stern, while his mother still had that kindness in her. She took hold of her brother's hand to drag him over there while she waved to get his attention. "Sasuke-kun!" Katara said aloud. "Do you have to be so loud, Katara?" asked her brother. "Huh, what did you say Haku-kun? I didn't hear you." "Never mind" was Haku's reply.

Sasuke was dressed in a plain, dark blue kimono, while his older brother was dressed up in a crimson-black kimono. Instantly, he came up and walked toward the Uchiha twins. "Come on, let's go do something………." Said Haku. "But what about Itachi-kun? We shouldn't leave him alone. I'm going to go ask him to come with us." Said the blackish-haired girl. Right after she said that, she came up next to Itachi and asked him to come with her. Unfortunately, Itachi was busy talking to important captains from the Uchiha police department, so he had declined the offer. The little heiress just decided to just forget about it and to show her parents her first friend. She went back toward her brother and Sasuke and grabbed both their hands, leading them outside to a nearby pond with a beautiful cherry blossom tree. The night was still young, with a wondrous breeze that swept through the air. The moon was fully lit tonight and the stars seemed brighter today. "I love staring up at the stars, especially when they're this bright, so come on and lay down with me" the 3 year old girl said. Both boys went down to lie on the ground beside her; Haku was on her left, while Sasuke was on her right. After a short moment, that felt like an eternity, all three kids were called in for the banquet dinner.

The dinner had many different dishes ranging from seafood to ramen noodles. The table was very long and wide to fit all the food and people. Lord Uchiha sat at the head of the table, while his wide sat on his left, while his guest of honor, the hokage sat on his right. His children were permitted to sit with their new friend. Throughout dinner, Haku and Katara got to know Sasuke more. They learned that Sasuke was always ignored by his father because his brother was such a great shinobi; Sasuke was just trying to get noticed by is father, so he couldn't wait to go into the academy when he turns 7. He wanted to feel loved by his father; he also sees Itachi as a hero and he enjoys training with him. They discovered that Itachi was a charming young boy that would do anything to protect his little brother.

Dinner was finally over and it was time for entertainment. Everyone gathered around the huge staging area and took their seats. They all were anxious for the entertainment. There were many different things going on; there were fire breathers, jugglers, and even some of the clan members came on stage to perform different fire techniques. Haku came onto the stage and breathed out fire; then he started controlling it, forming a dragon made from fire. Last, but not least, our little heiress's turn was coming up. She was currently backstage looking at the people who would be watching her. Her father was also there because they both would be doing a duet. The performer on stage was done with his fire-breathing and Lord Uchiha and his daughter came onto the stage, while her grandfather came onto the stage to play the song. Out came an angelic voice from their little Uchiha heiress; she had an amazing voice just like her mother, that it instantly captivated the audience.

Katara:

Ooooo  
Yeah  
I didn't wanna listen to what you were sayin'  
I thought that I knew all I need to know  
I didn't realize that somewhere inside me  
I knew you were right but I couldn't say so  
I can take care of myself, yeah, you taught me well

[Chorus: (Katara)]  
I learned from you that I do not crumble  
I learned that strength is something you choose  
All of the reasons to keep on believin'  
There's no question, that's a lesson, that I learned from you

[Lord Wairi]  
We always don't agree on  
What is the best way  
To get to the place that we're going from here  
But I can really trust you, and give you the distance,  
to make your decisions without any fear

[Both]  
I'm grateful for all of the times  
You opened my eyes

[(Both)]  
I learned from you that I do not crumble  
I learned that strength is something you choose  
All of the reasons to keep on believin',  
There's no question, that's a lesson  
I learned from you

[Both]  
You taught me to stand on my own

[Katara] and I thank you for that

[Both]  
You saved me, you made me,  
and now that I'm looking back

[Katara] I can say... Yeah!

[Both]  
I learned from you that  
[Both]  
I do not crumble  
I learned that strength is something you choose

[Katara] something you choose

[Both]  
All of the reasons to keep on believin',  
There's no question, that's a lesson that I learned from you  
I learned that strength is something you choose

[Both]  
All of the reasons to keep on believin',  
There's no question, that's a lesson that I learned from you  
[Both]  
I learned from you

Once the performance was done, everyone clapped and was amazed at how much talent Katara had. Some of the parents had a change of heart and realized that she wasn't a demon, but just a normal girl trying to fit in. "WELL DONE!!!!" everyone shouted.

Katara saw that everyone's eyes had a change of heart. Their eyes did not show hatred, but kindness and pride. For one moment in her life, she felt that she truly belonged here.

* * *

Thanks for reading! :)

and please feel free to review!!

Ja Ne!


	5. Chapter 2: The Exam and Opening Ceremony

Well, here's another chapter! and be free to review. This is actually my first fanfic, so hopefully you guys out here like it!

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Exam and The Opening Ceremony**

A gentle breeze was blowing through the air as the leaves rustled in the morning sun. A light quietly slipped through the window of the Uchiha Mansion to the rooms of Uchiha Haku and Katara. All was quiet, except for the rustle and bustle of the servants. Today was the day; a year had passed since and it was finally their turn to take the entrance exam to be permitted into the Hidden Leaf Village Ninja Academy. Excitement over took both of them as they got out of bed, got dressed and squeezed in some last minute practice. Both kids were finally ready and went downstairs; they were kindly greeted by everyone around them; on their way out to the training grounds, they both grabbed apples for a snack. Even though a year has passed, they both changed; both had advanced more in their training with their grandfather and father, but ever since the banquet, the little heiress has changed. She now was a happier child who had a lot more friends and some people in the clan even accepted her. Haku was his still kind, caring self, but nowadays, he had some fangirls that annoyed him greatly, but his sister always managed to get rid of them each time they chased or stalked her brother around. Katara and Haku also became best friends with Sasuke and they got to know Itachi a lot better than the all-knowing "Uchiha prodigy."

Uchiha Katara was currently wearing a sky blue tank top (with the Uchiha emblem on it; all their shirts have it on the back) with a black skort along with black sandals and light blue arm warmers that would cover up her dragon shaped curse mark. (the ones that sasuke used to wear) Her brother was wearing a navy collared shirt with navy ninja sandals; both of them had their ninja holsters on too. The soft breeze was still blowing as they quickly ran up to their dad and grandpa to start their training before they would arrive at the academy. Starting off with hand-to-hand combat, they later intensified the taijutsu with more complex and faster movement. It was a two on two battle; the twins versus their father and grandpa. Fireball jutsus flew back and forth a long with the **Phoenix Immortal Flame Jutsu (1)**. In the end, their father and grandpa won, but not by far since both Uchihas put up a good fight against them both. After their practice session, all of them decided to sit down on the porch with some tea in order to talk before the kids would go to the academy.

"I'm very proud of you both; you've exceeded much to my expectations." Said their father.

"I agree, I believe you will both do well; remember to always believe in yourself." Said Uchiha Taji, their grandpa.

"Oijisan? What keeps you going? How did you become so strong?" asked Haku.

Chuckling. "Well….you see, throughout my life, I've seen countless times where people die and become forgotten. But my ninja way is to never give up; keep trying and in that way, you will never be a failure. On the battle field, you should always risk your life no matter what the cost, but I believe that leaving a comrade behind is a horrid thing. Those who break the rules are trash, but those who leave behind their teammates are worst than trash. I want you both to always remember this. Just how your great-grandfather had given up his life to protect those precious to him, so will I."

"Katara, Haku, when you become ninjas, you're giving your word to this village. At times you will see countless deaths of those close to you. The number one thing that they will emphasize is to never show any emotion. I must warn you both, that the life of a ninja is a rigorous one; do not expect it to be easy." Their father sternly said.

"I was just thinking about that, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect this village and the people who are precious to me! I won't give up and I'll make you proud!" Katara replied with a smile.

"Same here." Replied Haku with a smirk.

"Let's go!" yelled Katara as she dashed off into the left direction with a little too much excitement.

"Umm…………..sis? The academy is the other way around." Said her brother.

Both their dad and grandpa laughed at Katara's activeness. And in their minds, they knew some things may never change and while both Uchihas walked towards the academy, they saw that they were both walking down their own paths to becoming true shinobi.

They were both having a racing contest toward the academy; they ran so fast that they almost ran into Sasuke and Itachi. Both brothers were giving them weird looks, until Katara stopped to tell them that they were headed for their exam. Before running off again, the heiress heard a 'good luck' from her best friend and his brother.

* * *

They both arrived right on time at the academy. There they saw many kids older than them that were waiting for their turn for the exam. A long, orderly line was formed, but many proctors were also there, which made the wait not as long as they would've thought. Everyone in line looked a little nervous, both these Uchihas felt a little confident, except that they were the youngest here. As they walked toward the back of the line, Katara noticed that some parents were giving her the same look everyone had always given her throughout her life. She also heard whispers where some mentioned that she was a monster and that she should never be a kunoichi. Inside, she felt sad, but she felt that she could prove them wrong; she promised herself right then and there to work hard and show them that she's strong enough to carry on and that she wouldn't let words like that stop her from becoming a great ninja and a great leader of the clan. Haku heard the whispers and quietly said, "Just ignore them; you'll do great." "Arigatou Haku-kun! And you'll be fine too! I can't wait until we both achieve both our dreams; to share the leadership of the clan." Her brother instantly noticed her cheery mood and he couldn't help but smile at her.

Time passed by swiftly and both the Uchiha twins were at the front of the line. Suddenly a voice yelled:

"Uchiha Haku! Your proctor for you test will be Iruka. Come up here and follow him!"

Right away the Uchiha prodigy got up and followed a young looking man but not before he heard a 'good luck' from his sister; the man known as Iruka, had an interesting scar on his nose, but through Haku's eyes, he seemed nice. They both walked side-by-side, walking around corners until they arrived at a clearing at the back of the school.

**Haku's POV:**

We arrived at a clearing and I noticed that we were getting tested on our physical abilities and mental abilities at the same time. I remember oijisan telling us that we needed both our mind and strength to win, so now I just wonder who my opponent is.

The sun was shining brightly in the middle of the sky. The nice, cool breeze was blowing more smoothly and the surroundings had trees and bushes in many different places.

"Alright……….Uchiha Haku, your exam will be based on skills that ninja will need. You will be graded on strategy and skill. This will be a timed exam; it does not matter if you do not beat your opponent, but I will observe you closely to determine your score, whether you pass or fail. Your exam starts now and your opponent is over there!." Yelled Iruka as he pointed to a wooden pole.

'**Ok………maybe I'm seeing things, but I'm fighting a pole?!' **Suddenly the pole turned out to be an automatic fighting dummy, which means that it could also fight back.

Back to **normal POV:**

Shuriken and kunai were easily deflected by the dummy, but Haku did not seem phased; instead a smirk had formed on his face. Instantly, the wooden thing was caught and restrained by wire that tied it to the tree. Quickly, Haku formed the seals for Fire Style: Dragon Flame jutsu, and suddenly, from the Uchiha's mouth came out an aura of flames that surrounded around his body, but the flames were quickly sent towards the dummy. Once the smoke diappeared, his opponent was broken into pieces. Uchiha Haku, believing that the fight was over, turned his back on his opponent, but soon enough, the pieces of the wooden dummy began to come back together, making it look like it was brand new. **'I see, it can regenerate itself……….I guess I'll have to find another approach.' **The dummy advanced toward the Uchiha and started kicking and punching at a quite impressive speed that Haku had to be kept on guard and use his sharingan to slow down each attack. The Uchiha also started fighting back by forming shadow clones. His clones also began attacking the dummy with their own kicks and punches. Each clone was eventually defeated and the real Haku was no where to be seen. At a fast speed, he appeared behind the dummy and gave him an upper-cut kick that led to the dummy floating in the sky. He then was behind the thing again, while in the air. Then with his sharingan on, he held onto the dummy with its face toward the ground. Within a blinking moment, he drove the dummy down into the ground with amazing force and speed. Once the battlefield cleared up, there was a huge hole from the impact of the dummy while Haku stood from the side on all fours with no scratches to be found form the impact. As it turned out, the dummy was crushed and broken. It was finally over.

Clapping was heard as Haku got to his feet. The Uchiha had some scratches, but he managed to defeat his opponent, which clearly surprised the teacher. Iruka wasn't expecting for someone his age to do so well, but without any further ado, Iruka said, "Congratulations! You've made it to the academy! But I would like to put you up into the more advanced class if your parents do not mind."

"Advanced class…….that's a bit strange for a 4 year old." Replied Haku, but inside you couldn't help but smile at his accomplishment.

"You have alot of potential ifor someone your age. I can see why the Legendary Uchiha Clan is one of the strongest clans in our village. You showed some very impressive taijutsu and ninjutsu skills out there and I'm sure your genjutsu is up to the bar as well. I would suggest you start at the more advanced class because you have the capability than a regular starter in the academy." The brown-haired chuunin informed the Uchiha.

"I'll think about it." Replied the Uchiha prodigy as he exited the exam area. On the inside, he couldn't help but think about how great it would be, but then again his thoughts changed toward his sister. If she didn't make it to the advanced class, he wouldn't go either; he would rather protect his sister from the mean kids who always picked on her, rather than go forward for his own benefits.

* * *

Minutes after her brother was called in, Katara was nervously waiting near the entrance for her turn. At a moments notice, she heard a voice call her name.

"Uchiha Katara! It is time for your examination! Your proctor will be Morino Ibiki." This only made her more nervous because she had heard several things about this guy.

Gulp. **'Please tell me I'm dreaming. Father always told me about this guy; at how he's the head of the torture and investigation corps. Why him?!'**

Katara swiftly followed behind her proctor, dreading the fact that it just had to be him. To her, it seemed that Kami was not on her side and she just wanted to get this over with. They arrived at a training ground with a huge lake that took up most of the space. It was a beautiful place with the sun on the horizon, that made the lake shimmer more beautifully. But unfortunately, her dream-like state had to be interupted by Ibiki when he explained the entrance exam:

"As you've noticed this area is quite peaceful, but some things are not what they always seem. You must remember that a ninja must see through deception. And now, your exam begins. Watch your back, as your opponent will not be an easy one."

**Katara's POV:**

I didn't see my opponent anywhere in sight, until I saw this strange wooden pole out of nowhere. In my head I was waiting for my opponent, but then it hit me when the pole turned out to be an automatic training dummy. Well, at least I didn't have to have some strange torture experiment done on me or worse, I would have to fight Ibiki. That would be strange, but now back to the battle. I observed this dummy as it began to circle around me, seeing if I would make the first move. Then without any hesitation it came and attacked me from behind. Luckily I made a shadow clone before this battle started and it was a good thing that I had several more coming out. I just needed to stall that dummy to think of a plan. By observing it, I realized that I would have to finish it off with one hit seeing that it regenerates when one of my clones used the fireball jutsu against it.

Once I completed my thought process, headed out to fight the dummy. Some kicks and punches were thrown at me, but I was able to easily avoid them. Suddenly, the attacks came with more force and speed which led me to feel the need to use my sharingan, but that thought was quickly erased from my mind. I really didn't enjoy using my sharingan unless it was absolutely necessary and in this case, I felt that I shouldn't depend on it each time. My plan was going to start, but before I knew it, the dummy disappeared. I was searching everywhere for it but it wasn't in my range. I concluded that if it wasn't here then it must be underground, after all Ibiki sensei did say 'you must see through deception', so I guess that applies here.

I quickly got on all fours and put my ear to the ground. Somehow, since I was born, I've always been able to sense different types of chakra and the chakra vibrations in the earth. I am also capable of sensing when people lie when I concentrate on the person's chakra vibrations. It's a strange talent, but in this situation it came in handy. I felt something under there, and suddenly it felt that I was actually touching the dummy; I felt the wood and everything, but now I knew for sure it was under there. Summoning some chakra to my fist, I immediately slammed it to the ground, causing the ground to shake and break under my hit. I'm going to have to thank my sensei Tsunade-sama for teaching me that. From the ground underneath me came out the dummy, who quickly jumped out from the broken pieces of earth. Once out of the huge crater I had created, it charged towrads me at a faster rate. From its momentary speed, I decided to charge at it too. Everything was going according to plan as I usually always am four steps or more than my opponent.

We were both charging at each other; the dummy was closing in, but before it got too close, I pushed some chakra into my feet and jumped into the air. When I began to come down, I put in more chakra on my right-leg, and right away, I gave the dummy a quick, chakra-powered kick to the head. Instantly, the crack that I caused traveled from its skull all the way down to its legs. As a result from my kick, the dummy was dimiknshed into nothing more than wooden pieces.

**Normal POV: **

Katara heard clapping and chuckling from behind her. She was too caught up in the fight that she almost forgot that it was an actual test.

"Well done. I've never seen such a child of your age that skilled. And I see that you used my hint in your battle. You have perfect chakra control, which is quite amazing. And those shadow clones! That technique is Jounin level! You definitely used your head as well! Quite impressive! Congratulations you not only made it into the academy, but I would also like to recommend you to the advanced class."

"Arigatou, Ibiki-sensei, but if you wouldn't mind, I would like to think this over." Replied the heiress very shyly while blushing at the compliments she got from her fighting.

"Alright……….give some thought into it. But I must tell you, your skill is beyond a starter at the academy. I'll wait for your decision when the opening ceremony occurs tomorrow."

"Arigatou! And ja ne Ibiki-sensei!!" Katara yelled happily as she left to go find her brother.

* * *

Haku was currently waiting for his sister on a bench near the academy. He had been spending his time thinking over about what Iruka had told him, while also trying to hide himself from his fangirls. He finally saw his sister happily skipping towards him; sometimes he just thought that his sister should keep her emotions in check. To the left he saw his fangirls heading his way; he quickly ran and took hold of his sister's hand as he dragged her toward their home. She did not know what was happening until she saw the big group of girls, so she also began to run for her life alongside her brother.

"Haku!! Maybe next time you should wear a disguise when you go out in public, huh?" Katara jokingly said as she was running.

"Haha, very funny, but this is not the time to make jokes, now come on we're almost there." Replied her brother.

They soon arrived at their home and ran inside. They then calmly walked up to their rooms, but Haku came into Katara's room to talk more about the exam. "So how did you do Kay (his nickname for her)?"

Katara: " Ibiki-sensei said I passed with flying colors. How about you?"

Haku: "Same here, but Iruka-sensei was the one that told me that. And also he told me that I should be in the advanced class, but I'm not sure yet because I didn't want to leave you alone."

Katara: "Well……….to tell you the truth Ibiki-sensei never said that to me." She said with a puppy-dog, sad face.

Haku: WHAT?! I was positive you would make it! He probably made a mistake………….I mean your skills are as good as mine……….I don't understand.

The heiress couldn't hold it in anymore and she began to laugh her head off.

Haku: What's so funny?

Katara: "Hahahaha……..you ..laugh……totally fell for…..laugh……….it! I got the same…….laugh….recommendation……laugh…….as you……laugh."

"Why I ……." Her brother said as he tackled her to the ground and he began to tickle her until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, you win, but it was pretty funny, right?" asked his sister.

"Yeah……..laugh….it was. So we're both going into the advanced class?" asked Haku.

"Yep!" Katara excitedly replied and now let's tell mom, dad, and grandpa!!" she said as she gripped onto her brother's hand toward the living room where their parents were reading, while their grandpa was drinking some tea.

They arrived and were asked too many questions at the same by their grandfather. "Now, Taji-san, give your grandkids some space to breath. How well did you both do on your exams?" asked their mother, Chihiro.

"Webothwererecommendedtogointotheadvancedclass!" they both yelled too quickly for the human ear to understand what they said.

"WHAT?! This is incredible! My grandkids in the advanced class, huh? That's something to be proud of." Taji said as he wiped off the tea that he had spit out when he heard the news because he was so shocked.

"Well, we've all had a long day, so I want you both to go to bed early. The opening ceremony starts early tomorrow and then the day after that, you'll be starting your day at the academy." Their mother said in a motherly way.

"O ya sue me na sai (goodnight)" the twins said as they were off to bed. Both of them couldn't wait until they could start their training at the academy. Finally the beginning of their dreams, where going to start.

* * *

The next day, the sun rose and slipped through both Haku's and Katara's windows. Haku was trying to shield his eyes from the light, but eventually the sun won, and he just decided to get ready for the opening ceremony. He quickly brushed his teeth and put on his white shorts and navy-collared shirt. Katara was already up; she always woke up earlier than most people in the mansion because she always enjoyed watching the sunrise from her window. She was all ready with her ninja gear on; she was wearing a red t-shirt with some black shorts. Her hair was getting a bit longer, so she had decided to tie it up into a pony-tail. Both twins got out of their rooms at the same time and both were walking down to the dining room together.

The dining room was an average-sized room with a poster of the Uchiha fan on the far left wall. All the walls were painted red with white stripes to add some décor. The table was an eight-person table that was ground-level and around the table, there were pillows that served as chairs; each pillow had designs which detailed the different seasons of the year. The kitchen was connected to the dining room and it had quality appliances, like an oven, stove, and so on. Their parents were both dressed up in the traditional kimonos that were required for the Uchiha lord and his wife. Wairi was wearing a navy kimono, while his wife was wearing a crimson colored one with a golden obi. Her hair was put up into a more complex bun with intricate details on the back of her head. Their grandfather was in a dark, forest-green kimono.

It was a nice day outside; the sun was shining while a breeze brought upon the smell of fresh spring flowers that had bloomed. Once the family had finished their breakfast, they all (as in like all the Uchihas of the clan) headed out to the academy. Many other proud parents and their kids stood together in a huge crowd, awaiting the hokage. After a few complaints and muttering, the 3rd arrived and began his speech:

"We are here today to congratulate those of you that have passed the entrance exam to enter the Hidden Leaf Village Ninja Academy. I am honored to have our next generation of children to carry on our legacy of great ninja from this village. I would just like to say, that those of you who are enrolled, I wish you all work hard and I hope you all do well when you spend your time here at the academy."

Clapping and applause was heard praising the hokage for his speech. Once after the speech, parents went around with their kids to talk with the other parents. Many approached Lord Uchiha and his wife, so they had no time to talk to their own kids. Both of their kids felt left out, so they quickly went to look for their cousins, Rin and Obito. Uchiha Obito is about 17 years old and is a Jounin. He used to be on the same team as Kakashi and Rin. His personality was still a bit childish, but that was what they both loved about him. He always helped them with their training, but he also allowed them to have some fun along the way. He has black hair that is spiked and still carries around those goggles of his. He was currently in his Jounin outfit. Uchiha Rin (no, she is not the same rin that was on kakashi's team) is currently an ANBU captain and is about 17; she was usually much too busy to attend events like this one, but she was here today to watch her cousins. She acted like a motherly figure; she always nagged about how childish Obito was, but she always knew how to cheer things up. She has waist-length brown hair with hazel eyes and she was wearing her ANBU outfit, except without her cat mask.

The twins finally found their cousins talking to Kakashi, Iruka, and Ibiki about the new ninja students that were coming in. Both cousins finally noticed Katara and Haku coming for them, but they weren't expecting to be tackled down by them both. The next thing you know, Rin and Obito are lying on the ground with both twins on them. But they weren't mad, they actually were quite happy and were laughing.

"I'm guessing your father and mother are busy talking to the other people?" asked Rin, as she already knew the answer even before they both gave her a nod.

"Well, I guess we're looking after you guys huh? Make us feel like the second choice………." Obito glumly said as he pointed to his 'broken' heart.

Giggling.. "Haha……Obito-kun, you know you'll always be number one in my book, besides we like hanging out with you guys." Replied Katara with a sheepish smile.

"Thanks Kay…….so I heard from these two that you were recommended to the advanced class…….that true?" Obito puzzedly asked as he pointed to the chuunin and the specialist.

"Well, we both considered this factor, and we do agree with the recommendation" Haku said calmly.

"Impressive………..who knew people who were related to Obito could do this." Said the copy ninja.

"Kakashi! You have to give me some credit too! I saved your butt last time on our last mission remember?" Obito said in a matter of fact style.

"Hmm………I don't recall unless you count that time when you saw a bee on my sleeping bag and ran after it for 5 miles……….was that it?" Kakashi said while reading his Icha Icha Paradise book.

Everyone began to laugh at Kakashi's comeback and Obito was blushing a little from embarrassment.

* * *

After a fun time with their cousins and their friends, they both went back to their parents and grandfather to go back to the mansion. After such a long day of laughs, both Uchiha heirs were ready for a goodnight sleep because the next day they would begin their first day at the academy.

* * *

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! :)

Please review! And hopefully, I'll update as soon as possible!

Ja Ne!


	6. Chapter 3: The Graduation Exam

**'....' thoughts**

**'.........' talking with the demon**

**Anyways, I just wanted to give a shout out to my first reviewer, xxRayneOfDreamsxx. Just wanted to say thanks. **

**But let's go on to the story. :) **

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Graduation Exam**

It's been four months since Katara and Haku have been to the academy. Even though they were the youngest in the class, but they felt like they belonged there. As time passed, they showed everyone their advanced skills and talents. It wasn't a surprise, since they came from the Legendary Uchiha Clan and so far, both kids were tied for the spot of Top Rookie of the year. At the moment all the kids were currently taking a quiz about chakra, even though Iruka sensei had already talked about this subject over and over again.

The blackish-blue haired Uchiha heiress completed her exam the first five minutes after their sensei handed it out. She was bored out of her mind, so she just decided to look out the window and look at the clouds. Out of the corner of her eye, she could also tell that her brother had finished since it became a habit of his to also stare out the window when he was done. Truth be told, she had thought the academy would be a lot more exciting, but it took a lot of studying and determination. But she supposed that through all the hard work she and her brother put in, it would be worth it once they would begin their real ninja career when they become genin. She and Haku just couldn't wait until the graduation exam which would be in 5 days. After about another boring 30 minutes, it was time to turn in the quizzes on your way out to go home. Katara, being the impatient on in this situation, quickly ran to the front of the class and was the first one to turn in her quiz in record time. Once she did, she ran out the room, as if she's never been outside before, while her brother followed behind her. They saw that their cousin, Rin was waiting to walk them home as usually, and as Rin saw her cousin, Katara run towards her, she saw that Haku was calmly walking behind his sister in no hurry, unlike his counterpart. In her mind, she was laughing at Katara's chipper mood and activeness that always never seemed to run out.

"Rin! Come on! Let's get going already!" yelled Katara as she took a hold of her cousin's and brother's hands.

"What's the hurry?" questioned Rin.

"She just wants to get out of here………and hangout with Sasuke." Haku replied to her as he smirked at Katara's childish antics.

"Alright let's go then" Rin replied, but without any notice she was smiling at how close Katara and Sasuke became as friends. It was true actually, anyone who knew them would know how close Katara and Sasuke had become even after a short time knowing each other. Although Sasuke was not yet enrolled in the academy yet, Katara always made some time for them to hangout after attending the academy every day.

Once home, they both said good bye to their cousin and dropped their stuff off from the academy in their rooms before heading off to Sasuke's house. Once they arrived, they were told that Itachi was going to take care of them, once again. All four of them arrived at a lake and today, it seemed like the perfect day to have a swim. Katara squealed in excitement and immediately got into her bathing suit and jumped into the lake, splashing everyone except Itachi, who knew she would do something like this. Both boys were wet and also jumped into the lake with their trunks on. Itachi was just observing them, while he just walked over to a nearby tree and sat down. He could hear their screams of fun and laughter, which was causing him to lose his train of thought. Without any realization, he felt water splash him in the face, and once he opened his eyes, he saw no one other than Uchiha Katara using some water jutsus to have control over the water. Sometimes he just thought this girl was too much to handle, but it also was amazing at how talented she was.

"Hahaha…….I got you Ita-kun!" Katara said as she saw his wet face; she was actually surprised that he didn't notice her presence.

"Hn………consider yourself lucky. People usually don't get away with that." Replied the Uchiha prodigy.

"Come on, join us, it's not like you have anything better to do Itachi." Katara said in her sweet, persuasive way. Then she used her puppy-dog eyes to finally make him say "hn" which she considered as a yes. She ended up grabbing his hand and leading him toward the water; after awhile, Itachi saw that he really didn't have a choice and just jumped into the water with his trunks on. All three kids had fun splashing and swimming in the lake. After a little fun in the water, they stayed to gaze at the sunset and then began to walk home. It was not too dark, so they had no trouble finding their way to the Uchiha Mansion. Once they arrived there, Haku and Katara said their thanks and goodbyes to their friends as they walked up to their home.

* * *

Both kids had such a fun time today. Katara couldn't believe that she was able to pull a joke on Itachi and actually managed to away with it. To her, it was actually an accomplishment that she needed to always remember. Once it was 11 o' clock, both kids decided to say goodnight to their parents and grandpa and cousins before going to bed. Katara felt like she needed a nice good sleep and she slept right away when her head hit her soft pillow. But once asleep, her dream seemed more like a reality:

_Rustling outside the Uchiha Mansion could be heard as a rouge ninja began to sneek inside. The ninja was obvious a missing nin due to his crossed out headband of the Hidden Cloud Village. The man had complete black eyes and dark red hair. His eyes were full of hatred and revenge for some odd reason. The man quickly used a transformation jutsu to disguise himself as a servant to the Uchiha household. Once inside, he began his search for the Uchiha heiress. Looking from room to room, he finally found her fast asleep on her bed. Katara saw herself as well, just sleeping soundly while the intruder kidnapped her. She felt like a spirit in her own dream because no matter how loud she tried to yell for help, no one heard her. This dream was more like a nightmare, but it only got worse. The man took her off to a forest near the Uchiha residence and was about to put a kunai knife to her neck……………………_

Katara's eyes suddenly opened from her nightmare; she was all sweaty from it because it all felt so real, but then she realized that she was being carried by someone. Praying that it was her father and not that same guy from her dream, she looked up. Her face showed shock and she could not believe that it was the exact same man from her nightmare. Talk about coincidence. The man realized she had woken up and stopped by a nearby clearing. He was staring at her with his menacing eyes that completely froze her from the inside out. She did come back to reality until she realized that she was tied to a tree. "W-w-what do you want from me?" stuttered the Uchiha heiress.

"Hn……brats like you don't deserve to live, but since you're going to die today, I might as well tell you. I'm a missing nin from the Hidden Cloud Village and I thought I would get payback. You see, my name is Yukazashi Rai, and long ago your own father made me look like a fool in front of my own village. I was casted out of there and I vowed that one day I would get back at him, and what better way to do so than with his daughter?"

"Umm……..why don't you just fight my father then?" asked Katara, but in reality she didn't care about his answer, she was just buying time until someone could find her here or until she could formulate a plan that could work. **'Hopefully, someone will realize that I'm gone.' **She thought as she was considering all the possible outcomes of this situation.

* * *

**Back at the mansion:**

Uchiha Chihiro was doing her normal rounds of checking each child's room. She just finished looking at her peaceful looking son in his sleep and she always enjoyed at how cute Katara looked when she slept on her bed. As she was slowly moving her way towards her daughter's room, she began remembering all the times when her daughter and she would sing songs and when she would sing lullabies to get her to go to sleep. Lady Uchiha silently walked into her daughter's room, but something was amiss. Her mother turned on the lights and realized that her daughter was gone and she also spotted a note on the bed. She quickly panicked and ran to get her husband. Uchiha Wairi was up late once again reading a book on the history of the village, but he stopped once he saw his wife's flustered face.

"Wairi! Look at this note! Katara's not in her room!" yelled so loudly that it woke up Haku and Taji. Both came downstairs to see what was wrong, but they were both shocked at what they learned:

_Dear old friend, _

_You might remember me from the Hidden Cloud Village_._, but I'm sure the name Yukazashi Rai rings a bell. I've have abducted your sweet, innocent daughter and if you do not come to the clearing to the nearby forest near your mansion, she will be killed instantly. I vowed to get revenge on you, and I'll make sure I'll get it. Come alone and bring no one else, or your precious little girl will be gone._

"H-he's captured her?" asked Haku.

"I'm going………..Chihiro, get me my sword." Wairi said with seriousness in his voice.

"You cannot go alone, son, I'm going with you" said Uchiha Taji with a confident smirk.

"So am I……." said Haku with the same smirk.

"Oh, no you're not! It's too dangerous out there, why would you want to go?" asked his mother; her face etched with worry.

"But you always told me to protect the ones who are precious to me!" The Uchiha boy answered back.

"Fine, but I want both you men to never lose track of him, alright?" said Lady Uchiha in a stern voice.

"He'll be fine Chihiro………you worry too much." Replied her husband and afterwards she gave him a kiss before all three males headed off to the forest.

* * *

**Back at the clearing:**

"My father is going to rescue me whether you like it or not!" Said Katara in a confident manner.

"HA! You make me laugh! You think that funny excuse for a leader can defeat me? Last time, I was weak, but now I've become a lot stronger and can take him down…….don't worry though……..I'll take you down too so you can be with your father." Replied the rouge ninja.

Katara saw her chance of escape right now and took it. She managed to cut the ropes with her extra kunai knife she always kept with her, while he was distracted, telling her answers to her questions. He saw that she was able to escape, but quickly caught up to her when she tried to run away. Rai took out a kunai knife and managed to give a deep wound on her left arm. She was holding onto her arm for dear life because she was losing blood fast. She managed to dodge the next attack and she kept some distance between them. Purple chakra emitted from her hand, which healed her wound; once again, thanks to the teachings of Tsunade-sama. She had to dodge another stab from the kunai and from the looks of it, the knife was going to head for a major artery if she didn't move in time. Both opponents leapt into the air, each with a kunai in hand. The clink of metal clashing could be heard over and over again as they both tried to weaken the other. Then they were at a standstill; their knives were being held together by their strength and they were each staring at each other with hateful glares. They once again backed away for another go. Charging at each other, Katara made a basic handsign to make clones while also sending some chakra to her feet. Once the rouge ninja got close, she and her clones ran directly at him and at the closest range possible, her clones disappeared and her chakra in her feet allowed her to pick up more speed as she punched the missing nin in his face.

Rai quickly recovered from the hit and now both opponents stopped using their weapons as they came to use taijutsu. Kick after kick, and punch after punch, each attack was dodged and reinforced. Both ninja were starting to break a sweat, but Rai managed to find a small opening in her fighting form, and kicked her on her side, which knocked her down to the ground. Katara was still recovering from the blow that when she turned around, she saw that he was coming after her with a large silver katana. As she was holding onto her side, she thought that **'This is it…………so this is how it ends.' **While her life flashed before her eyes. But the pain never came and as she opened her eyes again, she saw her father, brother, and grandfather guarding her. Her eyes widened in surprise and relief that they actually found her. "Kay, you alright?" asked Uchiha Haku as he saw her bruise from Rai's kick.

"Yeah……….don't worry about me." Replied his sister.

"You two better get out of here. Leave while we take care of this." Their grandfather said with quite a bit seriousness in his voice.

"Alright, let's go Katara." her brother said as he began to ran away. Katara followed not far behind him, but before she knew it, Rai was running at an extremely fast speed toward her brother with his katana. She realized that her brother wouldn't be able to dodge in time and she started to panic.

'**Oh no! What do I do? He's not going to be able to dodge.' **Katara thought as a strong feeling in the pit of her stomach took over her. She felt full of rage and longing to break every bone in that man; she didn't know what came over her.

"**You better save him before he gets hurt."**** A strange female voice said softly.**

**"W-who is that?" asked the Uchiha heiress.**

"**Shame…….you don't recognize me? I'm your demon that's inside of you. Don't you remember? I'm Hikari the nine-tailed dragon."**** Replied the demon**

"**Now that you mention it, I guess it makes sense, but I need to save him…….there's no way he'll survive. Please help me."**** Begged Katara**

"**I'll give you some of my chakra and I'm telling you, you will hear more from me later, but for now, go on and save your brother. MWHAHA!"**** said Hikari as she handed over some of her chakra to the Uchiha girl.**

* * *

Back at the current dilemma, the dragon's chakra began to envelope her body. Red chakra began pouring out from her dragon-shaped curse mark as some features of her body changed as well. Her fingernails became longer and sharper as her teeth were more razor-like and her eyes became a more definite blue color. Her gaze was a lot more demon-like and she was on a rampage. Before Rai was able to give a blow to her brother, her inhumane speed allowed her to block the hit with her claws. "I don't think so……….don't you ever, ever touch him again!!!" Said Katara, but her voice slightly changed into a more sinister voice with a death wish feeling behind it. Her piercing blue eyes were showing him her lust for blood, as she took hold of his sword and broke it in half with a karate chop. She slowly advanced to him as he began to retreat. Katara quickened her pace and slammed Rai into a nearby tree. She also began attacking him with her powerful claws combined with one inhuman punch to his gut and face. His blood was everywhere and every second in the battle, Katara began to lose control. The chakra around her body made her seem like a red star in the sky and that was what was currently going through Rai's mind as he was being mauled. In a slight whisper he said, "Hn………the Red Star……………" as he began to cough up blood.

Haku was amazed at how she risked her life for him, but at the same time he was worried that she might also get hurt from her demon. Her father and grandfather were trying to think of a plan to keep her under control, but suddenly, Haku ran to Katara and gave her a hug from behind. Her piercing eyes turned to him as he returned her gaze with sympathetic eyes as he begged, "Kay………stop this……….everything's alright now…………just please stop." Katara began to calm down as she stopped attacking the missing nin. Her body turned back to normal and she was holding her head in her hands as she sobbed onto her brother's shirt. Haku was whispering soft, soothing words to her, but at the same time, she couldn't believe she lost control.

Her father and grandfather rushed to her to make sure she was ok. Taking a look at her surroundings she saw all the damage she had caused and she saw that Yukazashi Rai was swiftly running away.

After a long, hard day, all four Uchihas returned to the Uchiha mansion, but Katara was still her broken state as she returned into the arms of her mother. With concern written all over her face, Uchiha Chihiro looked to her husband, while comforting her daughter.

With a returned gaze, Lord Uchiha addressed his wife's concern by telling her what had occurred. After explaining the whole situation, Lady Uchiha told soothing words to her daughter that everything was going to be okay. At the same time, her father gently touched her shoulder and looked at her with sympathy. Katara slowly turned to face her father with a tear-stained face and wondered what he was going to say; she thought he was going to say that he was mad at her, but as she looked into her father's eyes, she realized he was going to say something different.

"Katara, listen, what happened tonight wasn't your fault. These things happen, and I promise you, you're still the same daughter I know. This isn't going to change anything. I just want you to know that we'll love you no matter what, and what happens, happens. Just don't let this put you down because I know that you'll eventually learn to take control. And just remember, you don't need this demon's power for anything, your own strength is what makes you strong." Said her father as he gave his daughter a hug.

"Arigatou, otousan." Replied the heiress.

* * *

Today was the day of the graduation test. All the students that were going to take this test were waiting patiently in the classroom for their name to be called. Katara and her brother were among the few people that were waiting. She was still shaken up by her battle four days ago, that she didn't have her mind here at the moment. For the past few nights, she had been dreaming about the same battle scene repeatedly; she just couldn't get rid of the image in her mind. Haku had tried to calm her down and ensure her that she was no monster, which helped a bit. But breaking her from her concentration, a proctor had called both her and her brother's name. They both entered into a medium-sized wooden room with two teachers in there. At first glance they saw Iruka and someone they had met earlier in the day, Mizuki. Both were seated at a table full of hitate-itae ( ninja headbands). Those headbands actually made Katara feel better and it actually lightened up her mood. Her brother saw this change in her attitude and became less restless. Iruka and Mizuki sensei both asked to see an ordinary clone jutsu from both of them. The Uchiha twins concentrated on their chakra and they each managed to create ten clones. Both sensei's gave them a congratulations and a round of applause as they handed them their Hidden Leaf Village headbands; at long last, they were both official Hidden leaf Village Ninja.

Before leaving, Iruka assigned their squads: "Uchiha Haku your squad is team 4 with Nakamura Masako and Tou Yumi. Your sensei will be Mizuki. Uchiha Katara, your squad is team 7 with Hyuuga Keiko and Takahashi Koji. Your sensei was supposed to be the 3rd, but seeing that he will be too busy, you will have Hatake Kakashi."

* * *

"YES! We passed!!" screamed Katara as she was jumping up and down for the past ten minutes.

Chuckle…… "Well, isn't someone in a better mood today?" joked Haku.

"I can't help it! We're one step closer to our dream, Haku! It only took us four months to graduate!" the Uchiha girl said with her first smile ever since the incident along with holding onto her brother ahd making him jump up and down with her.

"Hey, why don't we go tell Sasuke the good news and then head toward Ichiraku?" asked her brother.

"Great idea!!!" Katara happily answered as she continued her happy jumping toward his house.

* * *

They arrived at the home in a few minutes; the house was still the same with its amazing flower garden in the front with a grand pathway. Katara always enjoyed nature, especially cherry blossoms and sunflowers. She lost track of time, that she didn't realize that she stopped to smell the flowers until her brother was making noises to get her to hurry up to the door. Katara gave her brother an annoyed expression, but quickly apologized. They both entered the household as Uchiha Mikoto opened the door for them. Both children showed her their new headbands and Sasuke's mother squealed in delight as she gave them both hugs. Hearing all the noise, Sasuke and his brother, Itachi came into the room. The kids once again showed both Uchiha boys their headbands and both congratulated them. After all the congratulating was done, Haku invited both Uchiha boys to go with them to eat at Ichiraku's.

"Wow…..I can't believe you passed!" Sasuke said with a lot of happiness for his best friends as he slurped up another ramen noodle.

"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun! And I'm sure you'll do well in the academy too!" Katara said with much gratitude.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I made the three of us friendship bracelets!" the heiress screamed as she gave one to her brother and best friend. They each had them in different shades of blue; Katara had the lightest, then Sasuke with regular blue, then Haku with navy blue. "Oh and watch this! Put them together and something happens cause I sealed a jutsu on it!" she exclaimed. When the three bracelets were put together, they glowed a bright white and both of the boys were clearly impressed. But after their excitement, they soon went back to eating their hot, steamy bowls of ramen noodles.

She was on her third bowl of ramen, which was unbelievable for a 4-year old girl. Everyone at the stand was staring at how much she was eating. Even her brother and Itachi were staring at her like she had two heads. "What? Is there something on my face?" asked Katara as she gave them a weird, confused look.

"It's nothing……….." replied Itachi, "Just that you're eating more than an average four-year old girl."

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't catch that………..did you say something, Itachi-kun?" asked the heiress. All three males around her sweat-dropped; sometimes they couldn't believe how unfocused she could be, especially around food.

Once they finished eating, they paid and talked along the way home. Even though Itachi did not show it, he was quite impressed at both of the twins. Both Uchiha boys walked the heirs to their large estate and said good-bye. Tomorrow would be their first ninja mission.

* * *

**Well, just thought you guys owuld want more information on the other characters that will soon be joining in the story, so here's**

**more information on the other characters**:

Tou, Yumi (last, first name): the number one fangirl of Nakamura Masako; she has platinum blonde hair tied up in a high pony-tail; has hazel eyes; best at genjutsu and the basics, but her taijutsu could use some work; wears a red ninja skirt with gray shorts under along with a white tank top with a fish net shirt under it. Currently, 11 years old and is a bit stuck-up and mean to Katara.

Nakamura, Masako: one of the best ninja in the graduating class; was the most popular, handsome guy in the class with his good looks; had ocean-blue eyes along with spiked black hair. Mostly good at taijutsu and ninjutsu. Comes from the Nakamura clan known for its specialized charms and scrolls; his personality is cocky and laid-back; 11 years old; wears a navy jacket, a black shirt, and gray pants or shorts.

Hyuuga Keiko: from the legendary Hyuuga clan and is from the branch family, so she has the curse mark that is covered up by her headband; she strongly believes that you could change your destiny and believes that the rules of the clan could be altered; has the Hyuuga eyes and short bluish-black hair at her shoulders; wears a white long-sleeved shirt with a light blue tank top over it; along with black pants. Currently, 9 years old; excels at mainly Jyuuken (gentle fist) but fairly good at genjutsu and ninjutsu.

Takahashi Koji: from the legendary Takahashi clan known for its bloodline limit (kekkei genkai), Amarasugan, which allows the user to see the chakra current in a human body, which can allow the user to predict the move their opponent will make; it can also allow the user to cast strong genjutsu and look into people's minds and when activated, the eyes turn green; he is well-rounded; has dark blue eyes with black hair tied in a low pony-tail; kind of has pale skin; wears a long or short sleeved, navy collared shirt with his clan's symbol, the Bridge; along with grey shorts. Currently 9 years old.

* * *

**Hope everyone liked the chapter and feel free to review!  
**

**Arigatou! **

**Ja ne! **


	7. Chapter 4: The First Mission

**Well, here's another chapter! :) Hopefully, I'll be able to update soon, but until then, **

**ENjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 4: The First Mission**

It was a bright, sunny day at the Uchiha Mansion. After a celebration for their achievement, everything seemed more relaxing and calm at the home. The sun was shining down causing a bit of more heat during the day. Both Uchihas were already up and prepared to meet up with their teams and start their first D-ranked mission. Sure, it may not have been the most amazing misson ever, but what could you expect from some newly graduated genin?

Team 4 was to meet up on top of the hospital building, while Team 7 would meet up with their sensei at the old academy room. Both Uchihas went to their own destinations, wishing each other the best of luck. Their parents watched as they both went into different directions and they were again reminded of how fast they were both growing up. Haku made his way to his meeting spot and saw that all the members of the squad were already here.

"Good……we're all here. Now I'm sure you are all well-acquainted with each other, so I don't believe introductions are necessary. My name is Mizuki-sensei and I'm your teacher from now on. Our first Team mission will be at the nearby river where we will be collecting trash. Let's head out!" Said Team 4's sensei. But little did they know they were off to have another test.

* * *

Uchiha Katara finally arrived at the academy and quickly stepped into the room. She saw that everyone was here except her sensei, which was oddly strange to her. Hyuuga Keiko was currently just looking out the window, while Takahashi Koji was calmly leaning on the left wall with his eyes closed. Truth be told, she was a little nervous because even though she knew who they were, she never really talked to them. Feeling a little brave today, she said "Ohayo" to both of her teammates. Both of them turned towards her giving her their full attention. Katara was a bit uncomfortable, but said "Umm……I just wanted to say hi and I'm glad I'm on the same team as you guys."

"Hey, no need to be shy. We are all on the same team, so we should all learn to get along and I suppose we can become friends!" Keiko happily said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, I suppose." Replied Koji "By the way, anyone know where our sensei is? He's about an hour late already."

The door to the classroom suddenly opened and all three children saw their teacher; no one other than Hatake Kakashi, the copy cat nin. "Sorry guys, I was helping an old lady cross the street." He sheepishly replied. But all three students could see through his charade, but ignored it; they just wanted to finish their first mission. "Come on, let's head up to the roof to introduce each other." Said Kakashi as he led his students to the top where they sat down on the ground, while their teacher stood up. "So tell me about your selves." The copy nin just stated.

"Well……….what would you want to know? And maybe you should tell us first." all three of them said.

"Your name, dislikes, likes, dreams, and stuff like that. I guess I'l start then; Alright, I'm Hatake Kakashi, I don't really feel like telling you my dislikes, likes, or dreams, so there you go." Replied their sensei. In truth, going through all three of their minds was **'he really only told us his name'** as they all sweatdropped. "Alright let's start off with you" he said as he pointed to Keiko.

"Oh, well my name is Hyuuga Keiko; I dislike people who purposely hurt others; I like to help others out and train and my dream is to be able to rid the Hyuuga clan of its curse mark on the Branch members."

"Next is you, in the middle." Kakashi said as he pointed to Koji.

"Takahashi Koji; I dislike annoying things and I like training and my hobbies are watching the sunset, swimming and many others; my dream is to make my clan proud of me and do my best."

"And last but not least, the Uchiha." Said the sensei.

"Uchiha Katara at your service! I really don't dislike anything unless it's someone who tries to hurt people who are close to me; I like my friends, family, and to train; my dream is to share the leadership of the clan with my brother and if possible I would like to be the next hokage!" yelled the Uchiha.

"Alright, enough with introductions, but based on my analysis, I'd have to say you three are a well-rounded group. There's no mission today, but I want you three to meet me tomorrow at the training grounds at 5:30 am." Said their sensei.

"Wait, I thought we were suppose to have our first mission today?" asked Koji.

Chuckle…… "Wait, what's so funny, Kakashi-sensei?" questioned the Hyuuga.

"If I told you, you wouldn't like it." Answered the copy nin.

"W-why?" stuttered the Uchiha as she was afraid what she was going to hear next.

"Well, according to the rules, after you've graduated the academy, we, as teachers, are suppose to give you another test to see if you're capable enough of being Genin." Replied their sensei.

"WHAT?!" all three members of team 7 yelled.

"But, didn't we just take an exam to get to where we are now?" asked Keiko.

"That was only, how'd you put it, a practice exam. Out here, I'll see if each and every one of you will be able to pass. So, just be ready for tomorrow, and just one more thing. Don't eat breakfast…………..OR you'll puke." Their sensei sinisterly said as he disappeared.

"Well, that was a little awkward, but I guess we have a free day today, so did you guys want to hangout to get to know each other more?" asked the shy Uchiha girl. But in the back of her head, she was a bit worried with what her sensei just told everyone, but that quickly slipped her mind as she came back to reality and overheard Keiko say:

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Sure." Said Koji.

Team 7 jumped from building to building until they landed on the nice, solid ground of the village. It was now the afternoon and it was about time for lunch, so with a suggestion from Keiko, all three teammates arrived at Ichiraku Ramen. Keiko ordered miso ramen; Katara got the miso chicken ramen and Koji got the beef. All three were happily slurping away and tried to start a conversation. Even though all three kids had different personalities, they had common interests. For starters, they all found out they had kekkai genkai and strangely enough, Katara noticed all four names started with the letter K. The three kids quickly bonded and enjoyed each other's company; it felt like they knew each other since they were born. After lunch, they all decided to go to a meadow and lay down to watch the clouds. "You know, I'm glad I met you guys; I grew up alone and no one usually wanted to play with me. My brother always got invited to hangout, but he always never wanted to leave me alone, but things got better." Katara said as she began to open up to them more.

"That must've been awful. I've lived alone for a few years now. I lost my family about 5 years ago when the dragon demon attacked. I've been alone ever since." Koji said and he felt somewhat safe with his two teammates.

"Yeah……..life could be hard. Let me show you something….." Keiko took off her headband from her forehead and her teammates saw a strange mark. "You see, this is the curse mark we are forced to have. I've been a caged bird ever since I got this mark when I was four. Sometimes I dislike how the main branch does not have to deal with this kind of pain. The branch family serves the main branch and this is our destiny, but I sometimes want to breakaway from it and form my own path. I don't want to always be a caged bird, and someday, I'm going to get rid of this tradition."

"Wow……we all have difficulties huh? I just want to tell you guys one more thing………….you know that attack from the nine-tailed dragon? My great-grandfather saved everyone, but gave up his life and sealed the demon inside of me……………I'm a Jinchuuriki." The Uchiha heiress sadly said as she was hoping that her teammates wouldn't turn away.

Shocked faces were turned towawrds the Uchiha as she had just opened up about her most deepest secret, but suddenly, Keiko soothingly said, "Hey……..it's alright. From what I've seen today, you aren't a monster………..not even close to one."

"I agree." Said Koji.

"Arigatou." The Uchiha softly replied. They stayed watching the clouds and the sunset until all three went their separate ways to their homes. Katara arrived home and saw her brother and she quickly asked him about his day. "It was fine……….you know just picking up cans from the river." Replied her brother but truthfully, he had just taken the test to become a fully-pledged genin and his team passed; he had to promise not to tell anyone. Katara felt a hint of untruthfulness in his tone, but decided to just brush it off. She went off to bed early and had a nice, sleep.

* * *

Uchiha Katara always seemed to be the early-bird. She always seemed to wake up before anyone in the household. Today, she had woken up at 4:00 am, still seeing that it was a bit dark outside, until she saw the brilliant sun rise on the horizon. She always loved watching the sun rise and set. She quickly prepared for her meeting with her team. She put on a long-sleeved red shirt with a black skort. Just in case, she decided to have an apple before she left and said goodbye to her grandfather, who was the only one up. She was running towards Team 7's training grounds with all her gear discovering, that she was the first one there. After waiting for about 5 minutes, the heiress saw both her teammates were coming to the designated spot. They both looked a bit tired and Keiko was trying to stifle a yawn. All three genin were too tired to stand, so they all sat down on the ground, with their backs to each other. An hour had passed, and their sensei was nowhere in sight. Team 7 was getting a bit impatient and they just concluded that this was a regular routine for their teacher. Hearing a poof from nearby, all three members turned their heads to see Kakashi and they were all giving him the death glare.

"Hello guys……….Sorry I'm late, but I just got lost on the road of life." He said as an excuse, but none of his students bought this.

"Yeah right…….and I'm the hokage." Koji joked.

Chuckling as he scratched the back of his head "Alright, let's get started, shall we? Now, today we have no missions, but this is your genin exam. All newly graduated students take this test, and if you fail, you'll go back to the academy."

"What?! But that's not fair,; you never mentioned this consequence to us. I thought we already went through the whole academy to become genin." The Hyuuga shockingly yelled.

"Well yes, you did go through the academy to get here and now here's the test……….." their sensei said as he pulled out two bells. "You have to get these bells from me and you have until noon."

"But there are only two, and there's three of us, so how does that work?" asked the Uchiha heiress.

"Well, obviously, the one person, who does not get a bell, will be sent back to the academy." Replied Kakashi. All three students gulped and hoped that they weren't that one person who would get sent back and at the same time, they all went wide-eyed at the fact that one of them would have to fail. "A little hint, come at me like you're going to kill me………….your test starts right now!" said the copy cat ninja as all three students jumped off to conceal themselves.

'**They've hidden themselves well………this might get interesting.'** Thought Kakashi. Shuriken were thrown at the Jounin and managed to hit him, but it turned out that he had used a substitution jutsu. **'Uh oh, I lost track of him…………'** thought Koji. He began to run and try to find their teacher before he could find him.

'**This doesn't make any sense……………there are only two bells, but three of us. There has to be a catch.' **Thought Katara as she was hiding under a bush. **'WAIT! That's it! This test isn't really about getting the bells, it's about teamwork. It any situation, teamwork is the most important tool during a mission, so there were only two bells because he wanted us to put aside our differences or else we would never be able to defeat him.' **After her discovering, she quickly went off to find her other two teammates to tell them her plan and her discovering before it was too late.

* * *

Takahashi Koji finally spotted Hatake Kakashi in a clearing. Their sensei was currently reading his book, not paying any attention to his surroundings. More kunai and shuriken were thrown at the teacher, while Koji leaped out from his spot. He quickly turned on his Amarasugan and saw Kakashi's chakra network. Koji came in with a roundhouse kick, which was deflected by Kakashi, but he also knew that he couldn't read while fighting this kid, so he put his book away before a punch was about to land on his shoulder. Kakashi did a backflip to avoid the hit and Koji quickly made the handsigns for one of his special genjutsus: Mirrors of Darkness **(1)**, which trapped Kakashi in an illusion where he saw dark monsters and his past. Kakashi quickly made the handsign to get out of the genjutsu, but before he knew it, Koji managed to get a slight cut on the teacher's shirt. When Kakashi landed on the ground, he noticed that vines coming from the earth were coming at him. Out of the bushes came Uchiha Katara controlling her vines to get their sensei. Kakashi was trying to avoid the vines, while also avoiding Koji's powerful punches and kicks. The vines were acting on their master's command, so Katara also joined in with her own ninjutsu attack, Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, as a fireball came from her mouth, directly at their sensei, who dodged the attack. He was still keeping his guard up, but then felt that someone had hit one of his chakra points. He was right, behind him was Hyuuga Keiko with her Byakugan on and she continued to hit the chakra network more, but before she could fully block him, he managed to get away, but then Katara's vines managed to grab him. And before you know it, they caught their sensei and got the bells.

"Hm……..well done." Said Kakashi. "But could you let me go?" "Oh, sorry." Replied the Uchiha as she called her vines off. "Well, I've got to say that no one ever passed my test. So congratulations, you passed." Kakashi said with a smile under his mask. "And we have our first mission together today. The mission details are that the feudal lord's wife lost her cat and we are to find it and retrieve it. The cat is a brown with a bow in its left ear. Let's go!"

"Hai!" replied all the genin.

* * *

After hours of searching in the intense heat, the three genin were beginning to sweat. They were all still searching with their bloodline limits, while Katara also was trying to sense the different chakra vibrations in the earth. At the same time, Katara felt the signature of the cat when Keiko spotted the animal at a clearing a few meters from where they were at the moment. The three genin weren't really enjoying their first mission, but I guess it couldn't get any worse. They were finally a few feet from their prey as Kakashi's voice was heard through their headsets, "How far are you from the target?"

"About 25 feet" replied Koji as he was talking into his headset.

"Are all of you guys ready?" asked the Hyuuga. "I'm ready." "So am I." All three genin pounced onto the target and Keiko managed to grab the cat.

"Mission was a success." Repied Koji to Kakashi.

"Come on, we better return this cat's to its owner." Said Katara.

* * *

Team 7 arrived at the mission building where they found the Feudal Lord's wife waiting for her cat. When she saw him, she screamed in delight and paid for the mission. From the looks of it, the three genin could see why the cat ran away. The Feudal Lord's wife was a bit fat, and she was currently squeezing the life out of her pet. In all their minds, they were thinking, **'Wow…………….I don't blame the cat for running away.'** A voice suddenly broke them from their thought, "Alright, time for our next mission. We're going to the horse ranch to help out. Let's go" Through their minds, they had a feeling that they were wrong, it could guess worse, but this was their start on their wonderful journey to becoming true shinobi.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading, and I'd gladly appreciate it if you reviewed! **

**Until next time, Ja ne! **

**katarauchiha653719**


	8. Chapter 5: The Chuunin Exams

**Hey everyone! Hope you guys enjoy this story so far! Hopefully I'll get more updates soon. :) **

**I do not own Naruto...**

**Now on with the story: **

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Chuunin Exams**

After weeks of countless D-ranked missions, Team 7 was gathered around at the bridge, waiting for their sensei to come. Once again, he was going to be late, but the team got used to this and pushed it off. Katara was currently just gazing out towards the river the bridge overlooked and was relaxing as the nice breeze just blew by.

* * *

"I have all gathered you all here to tell you of the upcoming Chuunin exams. This year, it will be held here and I want to know which squads you believe are ready for these exams. You know from experience that these exams are grueling." Said the Hokage.

"This early already? I wish we had more time." Replied the copy ninja.

"Yes, I know these exams are coming early this year, but the genin from the different villages are already coming into the village. Whether you think your teams are ready for this is up to you." the 3rd said.

"I, Hatake Kakashi from Team 7, recommend Takahashi Koji, Hyuuga Keiko, and Uchiha Katara for these exams."

"I, Toji Mizuki from Team 4 recommend Uchiha Haku, Nakamura Masako, and Tou Yumi for these exams as well."

"I Yuuhi Kurenai, from Team 9 recommend Inuzuka Aiko, Shou Kenji, and Tou Ami for these exams."

"And I Maito Gai, Team Gai, recommend Hyuuga Akana, Kyoto Toshiro, and Itou Hayato."

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, Team 10, recommend, Kobayashi Akira, Osaka Akeno, and Nara Shinichi."

"Alright, then these four genin squads will be entered into the exams. Go tell you teams; the exams will be starting in 10 days."

* * *

Team 7 was still waiting for their sensei and he was later than usual. All of a sudden, all three members ot Team 7 heard footsteps; as they turned around they saw their sensei.

"Sorry guys, I just……." got cut off by Koji, "We don't care about the excuse, just get to the point already."

"Well, someone seems impatient. But that's to be expected. Now where was I? Oh, I've recommended you guys to take the Chuunin Exams, here are the forms you must fill out, and the exams take place in 10 days. Whether you want to take them is your own choice. That is all." Their sensei said as he disappeared.

"That was weird……….but we're all going to be taking the exams right?" asked Keiko

"Yep!" both her other teammates replied with excitement.

"Did you guys just want to walk around the village?" asked Koji

"Sure!" both females replied.

While Team 7 was walking around town, the other teams were getting notified about their recommendations. While walking through the village, Team 7 spotted different ninja teams from other villages. They were just walking calmly until they came up and met some genin team from the Hidden Rain Village. "Hey, look here guys, here's some 2nd-rate genin punks." A female from the Rain team said.

"Hehe……I say we mess them up a little….couldn't do that much harm." Said a male with turquoise hair.

"There's no need for a fight, just save it for the exams." Replied Koji; he was a bit annoyed at them, but didn't show it.

"Well, look here, they have a tough guy on their team……..you know what we do to tough guys?" the turquoise haired male said as he slammed Koji into a fence. With fast speed Katara came up behind him and punched him away from her teammate.

"That's it! Little girl, you just made a huge mistake!" yelled the same ninja who attacked Koji. The Rain Ninja Team began to get ready for a fight and so did Team 7. Katara was facing off the same ninja she punched. He looked furious and started off by throwing senbon and then came charging at her. She managed to deflect the senbon, and then with her speed, she sped up and hit him with a chakra-filled punch that sent him back to his team. "Enough" said a familiar voice with such sternness.

"H-haku?" replied his sister. "Save it for the exams and I better not catch you messing my sister ever again." Said the Uchiha with his sharingan on.

"Hn….Fine with me………..you got lucky little girl, next time your brother won't be here to save you. What's your name?" asked the turquoise haired nin.

"Uchiha Katara and this is Hyuuga Keiko and Takahashi Koji. How about your team?" Katara asked the male.

"My name is Watanabe Ryozo. This here is my female teammate, Yamamoto Sorano, and this guy right here, who is usually silent, is Okinawa Jomei." Replied the clear leader of the Rain team. "Well, we're off and I'll see you and your team at the exams."

After they left, Haku jumped down from the tree he was in and asked, "Are all you guys alright?"

"Yeah" replied Keiko.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Katara and her crew of pathetic ninja." Said Tou Yumi. It seems like the rest of Team 4 followed her brother here.

"Nice to see you too, Yumi." Replied Katara, but obviously she was joking.

"Hmm………you're just jealous that Masako is on my team and not yours……….and plus your brother is a hottie too." Said Yumi as she began to hug both males on her team.

"You're pathetic…..I mean look at what you're wearing" whispered Keiko to both her teammates and they all laughed and so did Haku because he heard it as well.

"What's so funny?!" fumed Yumi; "Well, we'll see which team is better at the exams…….COME ON TEAM 4!!!!!" Yumi screamed as she was having one of her tantrums and her male teammates had no choice but to follow her. "Bye, guys." Replied Haku as he left and followed an angry Yumi.

"Man, I feel bad for your brother………….being on the same team with those two? I would lose my sanity." Joked Keiko.

Both of her teammates laughed. "Haha……..well, I guess he must have great self-control. It's getting dark so we all better head home." Replied Katara.

* * *

**More Info:**

**Hidden Rain Village Ninja:**

**Watanabe Ryozo:** leader of the Rain ninja team; has turquoise hair that is spiked and covers his green eyes; is 13 years old; uses water-base tactics; wears the traditional Rain ninja clothing and likes to use his umbrella he carries around; has quite a temper.

**Yamamoto Sorano:** only girl on her team; has a murderous personality; light blue hair with red eyes; hair is very long and tied up into a pony-tail; age 13; wears a black skirt with shorts under and a long-sleeved light blue shirt with fish net arm warmers and leg warmers; uses senbon and other water-based jutsus.

**Okinawa Jomei:** the silent one; doesn't say anything unless necessary; doesn't like to be kept waited; uses a combination of water and wind jutsus. Has red hair that sweeps to the side along with bright red eyes; wears black pants and shirt with a white scarf around his neck. 13 years old.

**Team 9:**

**Inuzuka Aiko:** from the Inuzuka clan; has a pure black puppy named Suki; loves animals; friends with Keiko and Katara; has a nice personality and friendly; most attacks deal with using her dog; has the Inuzuka markings on her face; black eyes with brown hair tied up into two pigtails; wears a gray jacket with a light blue shirt under; along with black ninja pants. 11 years old.

**Shou Kenji:** is the quiet one of the group and doesn't say things unless necessary; very logical and good at strategies; has a kekkai genkai that allows him to see in the dark and create strong genjutsus; wears a black-collared jacket with gray shorts and a white under-shirt. 11 years old.

**Tou Ami:** twin sister of Yumi; has short platinum blonde hair and hazel eyes; hair is shoulder-length with a hairpin holding the side bangs back; wears fish net shirt under her purple spaghetti-strapped top; also has a crush on Masako and is also mean to Katara; is stuck-up to; good at the basics and better at taijutsu then her sister. 11 years old

**Team 10:**

**Kobayashi Akira: **short, light-blue hair with bright aqua eyes; is outgoing and kind; friends with Katara and Keiko; wears a blue ninja dress with gray shorts under; uses water jutsus and decent at taijutsu. Age 11.

**Osaka Akeno: **age 11; he has white hair spiked in the way Kakashi's is with purple eyes; rival with Masako; laid back and has a cool demeanor; is an orphan who lost his parents to a certain someone; is a bit cold toward others and wants revenge on the one who killed his parents; wears dark green long-sleeved shirt with white shorts. Well-rounded ninja skills.

**Nara Shinichi: **age 11; he has the special techniques of the Nara clan as in shadow manipulation; also good in taijutsu; is carefree and lazy sometimes, but a good strategist. Has black hair tied back and dark brown eyes; wears black pants and a gray shirt with fish nets under it.

**Team Gai:**

**Hyuuga Akana: **from the Hyuuga clan; has the byakugan and uses the gentle fist; she is a rival to Keiko; not considered a genius compared to Keiko; is kind of cold towards Keiko; has the Hyuuga eyes and dark purple, long hair tied into a low pony-tail; wears black pants and a black v-top shirt with a fish net shirt under. Age 12.

**Kyoto Toshiro: **age 12;he has bright aqua eyes with blonde hair spiked up; wears a black, orange jacket with orange pants and white undershirt; is the prankster/funny guy; never gives up in what he does; age 12; great at taijutsu and ninjutsu; alright at genjutsu; friendly.

**Itou Hayato: **age 12; jade green hair (not spiked up but not like a bowl cut) with dark green eyes; wears a dark green jacket with white undershirt with gray pants; uses earth style jutsus; mainly good at ninjutsu while alright at taijutsu and genjutsu; cocky, yet humorous; best friend is Toshiro.

* * *

**Ten Days Later:**

Today was the day of the Chuunin Exams; both Uchiha twins woke up bright and early for a warm-up before they both walked together to meet up with their teams. The weather was nice today; the sun was brightly shining in the sky while animals in the forest roamed around the lands. The 4 rookie teams were feeling nervous as they got closer to their destination. All the other teams except Team 7 already reached the Chuunin Exam building. Team 7 quickly hurried to the building and found that some tough ninja were guarding the entrance. "Look, just get out of my way and let us pass….I don't have time for this." Coldly said Osaka Akeno.

"What's going on?" asked Keiko as she and her team came up to the room.

"These two guys aren't letting anyone in." replied Kobayashi Akira.

"Well, I suggest that we get them out of the way then." Said Inuzuka Aiko.

"Well, at any rate, this isn't even the third floor; it's the second." Replied the shy Uchiha.

"What………..?" questioned mostly everyone.

"Isn't it obvious? I mean when you count the flight of steps, this is only the second, as far as I'm concerned, this is a genjutsu." The Uchiha heiress explained.

"Hn……..well done, but you're going to need more than wits to pass these exams; some may even die, or others may even go crazy." Said one of the nin who was guarding the door.

"Hm………you can't scare me away! I'm definitely going make it through this!" yelled Kyoto Toshiro. But at the same time he yelled this out, the strange nin simply disappeared and all the genin were heading up the stairs to come up into the third floor. Team 7 was caught in meeting up with the Hidden Rain Ninja and was stopped from going to the exam room.

"What do you guys want?" asked Keiko as she turned on her Byakugan.

"Just warning you guys, that we will meet again………….and you better be ready." Warned Ryozo as he walked up the stairs with his teammates close behind him.

"Pff………..just who does he think he is? What a freak." Fumed Keiko to her team members.

"Come on," the Uchiha said as she took their hands, leading them up to the third floor "let's go."

Team 7 finally made it to the third floor. It seemed that they were the last team to come up. When they reached the door, they saw their sensei leaning on it. "Hn……..I thought I might see you guys here."

"Umm……….Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" asked the Uchiha.

"You see, if one of you did not show up, then the two who did, would not gain entrance; you see you need all three members to come." Replied the copy cat ninja.

"But then why did you say it was our own choice?" asked the Hyuuga.

"It's simple, I did not want your decision to be affected by this fact." Said their sensei. "Well, I better go and best of luck. I know you guys can make it through this." Kakashi said as he opened the door for his students. Team 7 stepped into the room, seeing that it was packed with genin teams from around the world. All the genin teams turned their heads toward the door seeing Team 7 coming in. Uchiha Katara felt the pressure when all eyes were on her because apparently, all the genin here knew that she seemed too young for these exams. After all, she was only about 4 and a half. Both Uchiha twins' birthdays were coming up; their birthday was on November 15 and today was the 10th, so it would only be a few days before their birthday.

Getting back to the room full of stares, all these ninja were giving this team the death glare. Gulp.. "Umm……..you guys……this is a little awkward….what's with the stares." Whispered Keiko.

"I have no idea, but let's try to find someone we know." Answered Koji to his teammate.

"Well, well, well, Team 7 finally showed up." Sarcastically said Yumi and her sister Ami.

"Look guys, its tweedle dee and tweedle dumb." Joked Kobayashi Akira. Everyone besides the two sisters laughed at the joke.

"OH! AKIRA!!! Just wait……..I'll get you back!" yelled Yumi.

"Hey calm down, there's no point in getting mad……." Said Inuzuka Aiko along with a bark from her dog, Suki.

"She's right…………Yumi just save it………I'm sure we'll beat all these rookies later." Confidently replied Nakamura Masako.

From far away Hyuuga Akana was glaring at Hyuuga Keiko. **'Have your fun now Keiko, but just you wait.'** Thought the Hyuuga. "Hey………you're the rookies right? Can you guys quiet down?" asked an unfamiliar voice coming from a blonde haired male.

"What makes you think you can quiet us down? Yelled Yumi and Ami.

"Sheesh……..someone needs to take a chill pill and if you haven't noticed, some of your competitors are getting annoyed" said another male voice.

"Who are you guys?" asked Aiko.

"We're Team Gai………I'm Kyoto Toshiro; this is Itou Hayato and Hyuuga Akana." Replied the blonde-haired boy.

"Hn…….hey I don't mind breaking up this reunion, but you rookies need to be quiet!" fumed a sound ninja that quickly came up to grab Yumi on her neck. Suddenly a poof was heard and the proctor for the first exam along with his assistants had arrived. Their first proctor would be no one other than, Morino Ibiki. "Enough! There will be no fighting during my exam……save it for another time." Threatened the proctor. The sound ninja, known as Akita Osamu, let go of his capture and whispered, "You rookies are in for a rude awakening." **'Great……….we just made more enemies and the exams haven't even started yet.' **Thought the Uchiha heiress.

"Alright! Now all you genin will form a line and give us your forms; in turn, you will get a number, which will be your seat during this exam." Morino Ibiki sternly said. All the ninja lined up and handed in their forms to get their number and soon enough, after everyone was seated, the proctor began to explain the exam.

"Listen up because I'm only going to say this once" warned Ibiki as he got everyone's attention as he began to write on the chalkboard. "Now this exam will be a written test. You will be graded as a team! If one of your team members fail, you all fail! Now you may also wonder why these other higher-ranked ninja are here. This is because they will be watching closely for any cheating. Be warned, their eyes are trained for this and they'll know your move before you even make it. If you are caught cheating, you will be deducted 2 points. The tenth question will be given out the last 15 minutes. Now, you may begin!"

'**Alright Katara you can do this……'** thought the Uchiha. 'The first question is: "In battle, your enemy threw a kunai at a 67 degree angle, while the wind caused the angle to change to 150. What is the new trajectory of the kunai?" **'Hmm………let's look onto the next new questions.'** The Uchiha heiress scanned her paper and realized each question got harder and harder. **'These questions are based on arithmetic situations along with some hard calculations. I mean, I understand them, but there are probably only a handful of people in the room who would understand these problems, let alone actually be able to find the answer. But if you're caught cheating, you're deducted 2 points each time. That doesn't make any sense; usually when you get caught, you automatically fail; but in this situation, you only get deducted 2 points, therefore, he wants us to cheat. ' **

_**Flashback:**_

"_**A hint, a ninja must see through deception." Said Morino Ibiki to Uchiha Katara during her entrance exam.**_

_**End of flashback.**_

'**Duh! Normally when someone is caught cheating, they automatically fail. But he's testing our skills on gathering information, which means, he actually wants us to cheat. I hope my teammates figure it out.'**

After making this discovering, Katara turned on her sharingan and looked at the answers of the person in front of her. But she quickly turned her sharingan off because she felt that she could finish this test without cheating. After about 10 minutes of thinking through all the answers she managed to finish all the questions and she quickly looked it over. To her, the answers all seemed right and she quickly sealed up the the answers with her chakra. Over to the left side of the room, Koji discovered that everyone would have to cheat, so he turned on his bloodline limit and his eyes turned green. He quickly saw the chakra network in the ninja in front of him and was able to see what movements the ninja would make, which allowed him to see the answers by copying the ninja's movements. In the middle of the room, sat Hyuuga Keiko; she turned on her Byakugan and looked around the room for someone who would know the answers. She finally spotted a shinobi that was quickly writing down answers and she took a peek. **'Jackpot'** thought the Hyuuga. Other shinobi were starting to cheat as well; Haku used his sharingan to copy movements; Aiko used her dog to peek at answers; Yumi and her sister used the mirrors on the ceiling to peek at answers; and Masako casted a charm on the ninja in front of him; this charm allowed the user to invade the person's body. The last 15 minutes of the test were coming up, but before it came upon that time, numbers and teams were called out; those who were called, failed due to getting caught cheating. Some ninja argued back, but they were quickly dragged out by Ibiki's subordinates.

It was finally the last 15 minutes and everyone was waiting for the tenth question. Ibiki's voice broke the silence as he said, "Alright, the tenth question will be given out right now; the question is, Given that you and your team is in a situation where both your teammates are taken captive and you have the chance to rescue the scroll, which was your original mission, which one would you choose? And you also know that if you choose the other, you will either lose the scroll or your teammates. If you choose the scroll, you would be able to get out without getting caught. I also warn you, if you hesitate, you will fail!"

'**This is a lose, lose situation. On one hand, you can get the scroll, but lose your teammates in the process. But then again, if you got the scroll, then your mission would be a success' **Thought Katara.

_**FLASHBACK: "A ninja who doesn't follow the rules is trash, but a ninja who leaves behind his comrades is worst than trash." **__End._** 'So I'm going to say the answer is saving your teammates.'**

"Alright, your team will only have one answer, so I want the remaining few of you (which were 126 people left) to gather in your teams and come up with an answer and write it on a piece of paper with your team on it." Said Ibiki

The remaining teams quickly gathered together and thought through the situation. After all the answers were put on the piece of paper, all the answers were collected into a box. The box was brought to Ibiki who opened it to look at all the answers. "Alright………….before I announce the winners, I'll give you all one last warning………….any team that fails this question, will NEVER be allowed to take these exams! Anyone who wants to quit now, can."

At that moment, everyone's face in the room dropped at the proctor's shocking comment. "WHAT?! But there's many people who have taken these exams! That's unfair!" yelled Tou Ami.

"Hmm………I guess you bunch are unlucky…………I wasn't the proctor at that time. But I am now, so I make the rules. " Answered the proctor. "Now anyone who wants to get out now, raise your hand, and your team will also fail." Two teams quickly rose their hands up and were choosing to fail. "I'm sorry guys, but I can't take this anymore………I'm sorry." A ninja who raised his hand said to his teammates. Katara turned around to see the disappointment on the ninja's teammates that she felt that there was no way she was going to give up now.

"Alright now back to the answer………….you've all passed!" smiled Ibiki

"WHAT?!" yelled all 12 remaining teams. At that moment, Uchiha Katara felt that she was going to fall off her chair, but at the same time, she felt so confused.

"Wait, where's the answer to the tenth question?" asked Masako.

"You see your decision was the answer………..you had to decide between ruining your chances and your team's chance. You must always put the team before yourself…......I put you in a situation where you were going to save yourself, or your teammates. The written exam was just for you to gather accurate enough information; there were some chuunin disguised as genin as you can see……..In ninja missions, gathering the wrong data could be worst than having none at all." The proctor said as he took off his headband and showed his scar marks. **'Those marks………how?'** thought Koji. "A ninja must be willing enough to risk their lives to finish the mission………if you aren't ready for this, you will never be a ninja, not as long as I'm here." Continued Ibiki.

"YEAH! WE PASSED!!" yelled Kyoto Toshiro and Itou Hayato as they both pumped their fists in the air.

Katara and Haku both turned to look at each other and each smiled at each other, showing a congratulations look. A crash came from the window and a strange, purple-haired woman came through. "Alright maggots! Time for your second exam of the Chuunin Exams. I'm Mitarashi Anko and I'm your proctor for the next exam!"

Ibiki just closed his eyes and held his head in his hands as he said "You're early again, Anko."

"Huh? Oh…hehe………how many are there left? You're test was too easy………when I'm done with them more than half will be gone." Sinisterly said Anko. **'Half?' gulp Uchiha Katara thought. **"Alright, tomorrow the second stage of the exams will start. Info will be given to your sensei's…………that's all." Yelled the purple-haired lady.

After all the students left, Ibiki was left to collect the tests. As he came along collecting each test one by one, his eye caught a test that was completely full with answers. He came upon Uchiha Katara's test and scanned the paper over and realized that each question was very thorough and correct. 'Amazing……….all these answers are correct. Hmm…….Uchiha Katara, huh? What a kunoichi!' thought the proctor as he smiled.

* * *

**The Next Day: **

"Welcome to Training Ground 1040, also known as the Forest of Death. All you maggots will be spending 5 days in here fighting for these scrolls. Each team will either get a Heaven or Earth scroll. Your goal is to get both scrolls. Once you have them both, you will need to head for a tower in the middle of the forest. You will not only encounter other teams, but dangerous animals in the forest. Be on alert. There are two ways you can fail, if you don't make it to the tower with the two scrolls during the 5 day time frame or if you open a scroll before going to the tower. Now I need you to sign these forms before beginning the exams." Anko explained.

"Wait, why do we even have to sign these?" asked Yumi

"Well, it's my responsibility if you die in there and these forms are just for you to agree on this little fact." Replied the proctor. "Now once you fill out your forms, come to the tents with your team to receive your scroll."

The forms were quickly passed out to each person and they were all reading it over and signing it. Uchiha Katara was away from the group, currently thinking about how fast everything was going. "You know, you shouldn't be far away from the group." Said her brother.

"Thanks Haku, but I was just thinking about how fast everything is going……….it's strange how we're already taking these exams at the age of four and plus our birthday is in 4 days and we'll be spending it in here."

"Don't worry about it Kay. We'll both be able to survive this, don't worry, and good luck." Haku soothingly said as he walked back to his team. His sister was smiling and quickly got into a line with Keiko and Koji to get their scroll; as they entered the tent, they quickly turned in their forms and retrieved their Heaven scroll. Team 7 was then assigned to go to Gate 12, where they would wait for each team to get into position to start the second stage of the Chuunin Exams.

After a few moments of waiting, all the 12 teams were at their stations, and the assistants opened the gates, allowing all of the teams to enter the forest. From first glance, this forest was lush with plants and wildlife; wildlife well beyond its normal size. There were oversized bugs and animals. The plants were overgrown and took most of the space. Trees towered over the ground along with the gross moss on their bark. Teams jumped and ran from tree to tree, hoping to adapt to their surroundings and to find other teams before they would find them. Team 4, Haku's team was currently jumping up in the trees, setting up charms and traps. Team 7 came from the northwest entrance and was coming into contact with clear, solid ground. The trees were not as plentiful in this area, so they decided to just run as swiftly as they could. Uchiha Katara was in the lead, while her two partners were at her sides. They continued to run, until they took to the trees; the trees would be a good area to be at, considering that they would give them more of a range of view. After about running for about 2 miles, the Uchiha heiress came to a sudden stop. Her teammates followed her actions and stopped immediately. Turning on her sharingan, she found the place full of paper bombs and wires; through her eyes, she saw that the wires set the bombs, so they had to be careful.

"Keiko, can you find an exit from this trap?" asked Katara.

"I'll try………" the Hyuuga replied as she activated her Byakugan. Veins came popping out, as her bloodline limit kicked in. Her eyes were scanning through the area looking for a weak spot, until coming to one at 45 degrees to the east. "Katara, there's one at 45 degrees to the east, but be careful, it has a hidden double wire under the second to last one."

"Thanks……..alright, I'll go first. And just watch carefully at how I do it because you need to precisely do it exactly like me when your turn comes up." Said the Uchiha as her teammates backed up behind her. The heiress started off with a run following with a back flip to the corner near a tree. Next came a backhand spring with a combo of the splits and a round off to the right. Quickly she ducked below the wire above her head and avoided two more wires. Next came the wire Keiko warned her about; Katara activated her sharingan and saw the two strings; by doing another backhand spring, she finally managed to land safely on the other side. "Alright, Keiko, Koji…………….go one by one and we need to hurry before anyone spots us." Said the Uchiha as she watched her female teammate finish with grace and then her male teammate did the same as well. After avoiding this trap, they started leaping from the trees, going in further into the forest.

* * *

Team 4 was currently stopping for a break before they would each split up and meet back at this exact location. They were situated in a nearby river with one of the largest trees in the area. After a few minutes of stocking up on water, they each went their separate ways to scan the area. Masako went south, Yumi east, and Haku northwest. The Uchiha heir was jumping from tree to tree noticing that things were clear, so he continued onto his venture.

* * *

Team 7 was still traveling deeper into the area. Each of them was using their bloodlines to locate any nearby teams, but after a few hours, they stopped at a clearing and took a break. The three members of the team sat down on rocks and took sips of their stored water. After a few minutes of rest, they began to stand up and start on their journey. Katara turned her head to the west and widened her eyes in shock; Koji noticed this small detail on Katara's face and jumped up into action.

Koji got up and threw a shuriken at a nearby tree, while his female teammates got into a fighting position; their backs facing each other and the male member also joined them. They were currently in a three-man triangular position, each one of them facing a different direction, searching for the enemy. Katara began to feel the chakra vibrations in the earth and managed to feel chakra from three ninja from the Hidden Grass Village. More shuriken came their way, and each genin took out a kunai to block each one from landing a scratch on them. Suddenly, the grass ninja popped up from the ground; at long last, team 7 got a look at their opponents. The enemy ninja were in the traditional grass ninja outfit in different shades of green. Each grass nin also wore straw hats with the Hidden Grass Village symbol and they were each staring menacingly at Team 7. "Hmm………..seems like you guys are unlucky……..but do you want to know a secret? Someone's going to die here…….." a grass nin with long brown hair and red eyes said with a grimace.

"Come on, Ukon, let's get this over with" another grass nin said with the same red eyes, but with black hair to his brown-haired teammate.

"Riku, patience" replied the third ninja with the same red eyes, but with white long hair; also known as Yasahiku. "First…………I'd like to introduce us; we're known as the Ikeda brothers.....now how about you guys?" asked the male clearly known as Ukon.

"Hn………..I'm Takahashi Koji, this is Hyuuga Keiko, and Uchiha Katara." Replied the male member of Team 7.

"Interesting……………some of the top clan members of the Hidden Leaf, huh? Well then, this kill will be especially fun." Sinisterly said Riku. "Then, let's begin……."said Ukon.

The Grass Nin began to throw shuriken, kunai, and senbon at an incredibly fast rate. Each member was able to slow down the rate of the movement of the weapons by using their bloodlines; quickly, Keiko saw that the senbon had been infused with poison; "Guys……….be careful, the senbon have poison in them!" yelled the Hyuuga as she managed to dodge an incoming shuriken. Both Koji and Katara jumped up into the air and concealed themselves, while Keiko was busy avoiding each weapon, while also keeping them distracted. The Hyuuga was able to perform, Hakkashou Kaiten (8 Divinations Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin), which allowed her to block most of the weapons. She continued doing this for a time, and was starting to slow down after a few minutes and once the grass ninja saw this, they threw more senbon. Unfortunately for the Hyuuga, she got a scratch from the senbon and was poisoned. Both her teammates saw this and jumped in to help. The grass ninja formed handsigns and managed to sprout vines from out of the ground. The vines were dangerously swinging at the leaf genin; Keiko was holding onto her arm because the poison was starting to spread throughout her body. Her knees buckled and she began to fall, but her male teammate managed to take a hold of her and hide her in a tree. Koji then came back, seeing that Katara was using her fire element jutsus and taijutsu to get rid of the vines. Koji also jumped into action; he started landing kicks and weapons in the vines. Luckily his weapons landed into their target; he managed to find the weakest spot where the grass ninja's chakra would be in the vines and by doing so, he attached paper bombs to his weapons. With a simple nod towards his teammate, Katara used the Dragon Fire Jutsu that activated the bombs, creating a huge explosion.

Both members were safe from the explosion and once the smoke cleared, one grass nin was heavily injured. Now there were only two more that they had to beat. Katara quickly took out a Wind Demon Shuriken; ran at Koji, where he was giving her a boost up into the air; once in the air, she threw the gigantic shuriken with such force that it quickly sped up and hit the second grass nin, instantly cutting him in half. His screams could be heard as he was cut in half and his blood was strewn all over the battlefield. Both members of Team 7 wiped off the blood on their faces and faced the leader of the group.

Koji stepped forward, showing Katara that he wanted to take on this guy on his own. The Uchiha took the hint and moved out of the way. She swiftly sprinted towards where Keiko was, and took the Hyuuga out of the tree to look over her wound. Keiko was currently unconscious due to the fact that the poison had spread quickly. The Uchiha heiress began checking for a pulse and once after she found one, she was at ease.

Back onto the battlefield, Koji and Ukon were fighting it out. Each ninja had a kunai in hand, and used this weapon to fight. At the moment, both shinobi were tied in strength. The Takahashi jumped, gaining some distance between his opponent to form the seals for **Darkness of the Wind** (1). As soon as he finished the handsigns, the nice breeze that was blowing, turned into a strong blowing force. The wind headed toward the grass ninja while he was trying to avoid it, but the wind managed to hit its target and give him some deep cuts. Without any realization, the grass ninja had thrown a poisonous senbon at the leaf nin before being hit. The senbon managed to hit Koji's arm, causing him to buckle and fall onto the ground. The poison was also spreading inside him, which caused his concentration on his attack to be destroyed, so the attack disappeared. The leaf ninja was trying to lift himself up, but the grass ninja managed to sneak behind him because the other ninja was a clone. Ukon was holding up a kunai knife and was about to strike until a punch pushed him back.

The punch was from none other than his teammate, Uchiha Katara. She had come at the right time and was now going to face off against Ukon. "Hahaa…………this little girl is going to face me? This is going to be fun……………." Said Ukon with his infamous grimace. With one last look and whisper of "Good luck," to Katara, Koji slipped off into unconsciousness. Now it was the Uchiha versus the Ikeda. (Katara did not use her sharingan in this fight). Both started off by throwing shuriken at each other, which was quickly deflected. Next they began to go for close range combat; both had kunai in hand and tried to push the other off their feet with their pure strength. Again they both jumped back and put away their weapon. They then both ran directly at each other; now it was hand-to-hand combat. Each punch and kick was avoided by the other, until the Uchiha managed to kick the grass ninja on his feet, which resulted in him losing his balance. Right when he was about to fall onto the ground, Katara summoned up her chakra into her left-fist and hit him in the gut, into the ground. This created a hug crater in the ground and caused the earth to shake. The inflicted punch automatically killed her opponent, and he was left there to bleed nonstop. After checking for his pulse, she realized that he was dead; then she began looking for their scroll, and just their luck, it was an Earth scroll.

After realizing what was happening, Katara quickly came to grab Koji and carried him to a giant tree. This was where she hid Keiko. She then laid down her teammate and began to check for any other injuries. Both her teammates were poisoned, so now it was up to her to take care of them. '**I just hope they get better……………..and I hope no one else shows up.'** Thought the Uchiha as she healed Koji, since she already healed Keiko. After healing the minor injuries, Katara took out a bottle of pills that had the antidote for the poison. She had a hard time trying to get Koji to sit up, but once she was able to, she opened his mouth and dropped in a pill. Once all the medicinal needs were done, Katara got ready for the night watch; she would have to stay up all night to keep her teammates safe.

* * *

**The Next Day:**

The Uchiha heiress managed to stay up all night; no trespassers were spotted, but her teammates were still unconscious. Katara was still taking care of them; she checked their temperatures and replaced the wet towels on their foreheads with new ones. The only good news was that they got the scroll that they needed, but then again, the enemy could also find them. **'This** **is bad…………come on you guys, wake up! I can't fully protect you guys if an enemy comes.'** Katara thought to herself. The Uchiha heard a rustle in the bushes and took out a shuriken. Out came a squirrel, and the Uchiha became relaxed; she had thought it was another team of genin, but maybe she was lucky. "Hn……….look at what we got here, Osamu." Said a foreign voice. Or then again, maybe Katara was just always unlucky.

"Hey, you're one of those annoying rookies, aren't you?" asked a female voice. The Uchiha heiress turned around slowly with a look of panic on her face; she came face to face with three ninja from sound. She recognized Akita Osamu, for he was the one who rudely attacked Yumi. Osamu has coal-black eyes with black hair tied back, his female teammate, Kimura Kei, had long black hair in a bun with piercing navy eyes; his other teammate, Nakano Kimiko, had brown short hair with black eyes. So now, there were three Sound ninja versus one leaf genin. The one called Osamu stepped forward, and was walking to where Team 7 was. "As I said before, you rookies are in for a rude awakening." threatened the male sound ninja.

Out of nowhere, a kunai was thrown and hit Osamu in the arm. He pulled out the weapon and was suddenly enrage. "Alright, which one of you rookies threw that?!" yelled the sound nin.

"It was me………." A voice said from the trees. All three sound ninja and Katara looked to the tree and saw Haku. **'No way! Wow……..on second thought, maybe I am lucky.'** Thought the heiress. Her brother jumped onto the ground beside her and looked her in the eye with his sharingan. He then said, "Kay, come on, we can take them………..ready for our special Fire Style Combo?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Replied Katara with a newly found confidence.

* * *

Two of the three members of Team 4 were currently waiting for their teammate. Yumi had a worry look on her face because Uchiha Haku was never late; this was so unlike him. Masako was also worried, but did not show it on his face.

"Where's Haku? He's never late……………….he and late don't mix." Yumi said, breaking the silence.

"He probably got caught up in another fight. No matter, he'll be able to handle himself, but let's just find him." Simply replied Masako as he jumped up into the tree, with Yumi closely following behind him.

* * *

Haku and Katara were now fighting against the three sound ninja. From the looks of it, all three sound nin looked pretty tough. They all had murderous looks pointed at both Uchihas. First to start off, Haku and Katara threw some shuriken at them, to test their strength and agility; as predicted, they deflected each weapon. The two sound kunoichi then came in with a combo: **Sound Waves of Destruction**, which sent powerful waves that blew plant life away, while also hitting both Uchihas. The two Uchihas managed to substitute clones in their places and when the attack hit, both clones poofed away.

Both Uchihas were hiding in the bushes, observing their opponents. "Haku," whispered Katara. "I say we go for the combo on those two girls."

"Alright Katara, let's go." As soon as that was said, both Uchihas appeared on the battlefield, ready for their combo attack. They both started out by throwing several weapons at all three ninja and they managed to pin the male. The Uchiha twins then began running in a zigzag motion that the human eye could not possibly keep up with them. They once again threw more weapons; the female sound ninja were both star-struck when wire-connected weapons wrapped around them and restrained them; they had both used, the Sharingan Triple Windmill Attack. Both girls tripped, and fell onto the ground. Once restrained, Katara used her earth element to use the earth under the girls to hit them up into the air. Once they were in midair, Katara came beside them and gave them a powerful kick to their stomachs. Then, when they were quickly descending to the ground, Haku formed the seals for the Dragon Fire Jutsu; the flame quickly hit the kunoichi as both girls caught on fire and fell down to earth; it seemed as if a comet was falling.

The third sound ninja managed to unpin himself and was now their only opponent left. Katara ran directly at him, giving him some kicks and punches. After her "warm-up" she continued speeding up her attacks and she put her hands on the ground, creating a handstand look; once gaining balance, she twisted her legs around to land some very powerful kicks on her opponent. Next, she moved out of the way, allowing her brother to move in and fight. He quickly came up on him, and gave him an uppercut on his chin, sending him flying up. Once far enough in the air, Haku came next to him, grabbed him and spun him, while also keeping him held together, while they both were heading towards the ground (lotus). Haku let go, once close enough to the earth, and Osamu got a direct hit.

From the looks of it, Osamu had a broken arm after that attack. The Uchiha heir came at Osamu again and began injuring some more. Haku was leading Osamu backwards, as each attack hit him; then from behind, Katara came and used her sharingan to hit his tenketsu (chakra points), blocking his chakra. With one swift move, she summoned up more chakra into her palm and soon enough, chirping from a thousand birds could heard. She had created the chidori, and swiftly landed the attack onto Osamu's chest.

"We did it." Said Haku as he took a breather.

"Yeah." Katara said with a bright smile, even though they both were scratched up. The little Uchiha girl then began searching for the scroll and found a Heaven scroll. She really had no need for this scroll, so she just took it out from the sound ninja's possession and handed it to her brother. "What? Don't you need this Kay?" asked her brother.

"No, take it……………we already got both scrolls………..plus, I have a feeling your teammates are looking for you and would be over-joyed if you got this." Replied his sister.

"Thanks…" said Haku as he took the scroll from her hands.

"There you are……….man what a mess!" yelled a familiar voice. Both Uchihas turned around and saw Yumi and Masako jumping down onto the ground. Clearly Haku was a mess; his black-collared shirt was ripped in places as well as his white shorts and his face had some scratches along with the enemies' blood on his face and clothes. Katara had the same appearance, but with more blood, since she was the one who gave the final strike on Osamu.

"You guys must've had one heck of a fight……"Masako calmly said.

"Well, you could say that……….." shyly replied Katara while also scratching the back of her head. "Oh! I better check on Keiko and Koji!" she said as she ran off toward her teammates. Team 4 also followed her to Team 7's spot and saw the rest of her team. Keiko and Koji were both starting to wake up, and their teammate, Katara, was nervously standing over them. Both her teammates opened their eyes, and they were greeted with a tight hug from their teammate. "Whoa……….what happened to you?" both Koji and Keiko asked as they looked at Katara's appearance.

"Umm………it's a long story; I'll tell you guys on the way to the tower." Replied the heiress.

"The tower? What? We got both scrolls?!" exclaimed the Hyuuga.

"Yeah, come on…………and you guys owe me for taking such great care of you guys!!" happily said Katara.

"Oh, what about them?" asked Koji, as he eyed Team 4.

"Let them come along." Answered the heiress.

"WHY?" asked the Hyuuga.

"Keiko………think about it. It's almost the end of the second day………it's going to start getting darker as we head to the tower………and plus we both have the two scrolls, and if we traveled together, there's less of a chance of getting attacked." Replied Katara.

"Alright……..it's fine with me." Replied Koji.

* * *

So both genin teams began their journey to the tower. Nightfall had taken place and even though both teams were so close to their goal, they all decided to wait until the next morning to go back to traveling.

The sun broke through the darkness of the forest and lit up the whole area. Both Hidden leaf genin teams had camped out yesterday and now were getting ready to go to the tower. After packing up, both teams continued toward their goal, and within 2 hours, they managed to get there without any trouble. Both genin teams wished the other good luck as they entered through different doorways.

Team 7 entered into an empty room, except for a big hanging poster on the other wall. It said, as Keiko was reading aloud:

"If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher; if earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. If heaven and earth are opened together, the parallel-less path with become righteous forever! This something is the secret way that guides us from this place today."

"So there's a blank there? I think it's time for us to open the scrolls." Said Koji.

Keiko and Koji both were holding the scrolls as they each carefully opened them. On both scrolls there was a symbol that stood for person, and Katara saw that something was wrong; the scroll started smoking and the Uchiha heiress screamed, "Keiko, Koji get rid of the scrolls! It's a summoning jutsu!" Both teammates threw the scrolls onto the opposite wall as more smoke came coming out. After a few minutes, the smoke had cleared, and all three genin saw their old sensei, Iruka. "What?!" yelled team 7.

"Nice to see you too." Said Iruka. "I'm here to congratulate you guys on completing the 2nd stage of the Chuunin exams and chuunin are chosen to greet you as well; you've all come a long way, but you must push yourselves further because this isn't the end. Seems like you guys arrived here two days earlier than expected, but well done! And Katara, Happy Early 5th birthday!!"

"Arigatou Iruka-sensei!" exclaimed the Uchiha heiress.

"You're as hyperactive as ever, Katara." Joked Iruka as he chuckled.

"Wait, Iruka-sensei, were you just here to congratulate us, or is there more? Because I have a question about the writing; there's a word missing there." Questioningly said the Hyuuga.

"Well, I'm also here to explain that, but before I want to talk to you guys about this stage of the exams. Part of this stage was to test how well you could see a difficult mission all the way through. Now, your mission was to not open these scrolls and arrive here at the tower; if you ever did open them, we were ordered to knock you out immediately. The 5 days of survival were meant to test your abilities as Chuunin messengers and to see if you would be any good at it."

"But sensei, you still didn't answer my question; what is with the writing?" asked Keiko

"They're instructions Lord Hokage recorded for principles a Chuunin should follow." Frankly stated their old teacher. "Yeah , but still…………………._cut off by Iruka_…………. "I'm getting there. Now, heaven stands for your mind, and earth, your body; the first line states: "If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher," in other words if your weakness lies in your intellect, then make sure you work hard to learn all the information and skills needed to prepare you for your missions."

"The other line,: "If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack," meaning if your weakness lies in your physical strength, then make sure you work on your physical condition every day so it improves. And finally : "If heaven and earth are opened together, the parallel-less path with become righteous forever," in other words, if your mind and body work together as one, then a very dangerous mission can become an easy one……………..Always remember this and I also want you to know that, a Chuunin is a leader, a guide; it's a Chuunin's responsibility to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the ninja serving under him; it is also a Chuunin's job to know what skills and training those ninja need to succeed on a mission."

"I also have a question sensei; what's with the blank?" Koji asked.

"Well, remember that symbol on the scrolls? It was the symbol for person and it's your job to fill in the blank; it's a reference to you Chuunin. You should always remember this. Now seeing that you guys came here early, you all need to wait for the 5 day time period to be over." Said Iruka.

* * *

After about two more days of waiting, all the teams that had completed the 2nd stage of the exam was over. A day ago, Haku and Katara had just turned 5, so that was something they celebrated after they met up with each other after their discussions about the writing. Now all 8 teams out of 12 had made it to the 3rd exam and they were all standing in a room with their teachers, proctors, and the hokage. Anko, the 2nd proctor, loudly said: "Listen up you maggots!! Lord Hokage is going to explain the 3rd exam for you! Go head Lord Hokage………."

"Thank you, Anko………………But first I want to explain about the test itself, the true purpose. Now, why do you suppose our country holds these exams in conjunction with our allies?" asked the 3rd, but none of the genin knew the answer, or some did but knew he would say it anyways. "It's to raise the ability levels of the shinobi and to increase friendship between allied nations. But the exams are sort of speak, representation of a battle between allied nations."

"B-but……what?" asked Inuzuka Aiko.

"Now look at our history closely; all the countries we are closely allied with were once neighboring nations that continuously fought each other for power. In order to avoid destroying each other's military strength, those nations picked champions to do battle on behalf of their countries to mutually selected locations; this was how originally the Chuunin exams began. These exams give the chance for each nation to display the strength of its shinobi. Many important leaders and feudal lords are invited to come as guests to watch these exams and to possibly employ shinobi; this exam could determine the course of your ninja career for the rest of your lives."

"I get it, but why did you say friendship, earlier?" asked Hyuuga Keiko.

"True, I may have said that, but you also had forgotten what I said earlier. Now, if the leaders see that one nation is stronger than another, the weaker nation's mission count will decline, therefore, the stronger our nation, the better position we have for negotiating with other nations. The nation's strength lies within the village and the village's strength lies with the shinobi's strength. True strength of a shinobi is pushed to its limits in life-death situations. These exams allow shinobi to carry the pride of their nations on their backs and fight against other ninja for their very lives; that is what friendship means in shinobi terms." droned the 3rd Hokage. "It's because it is an exam where your life is on the line, that it has meaning. In the world of shinobi, battling and dying is friendship. The 3rd exam is the fight for your life, and the pride of your village and your own dreams at stake. Now without further ado, I will explain the 3rd exam." said the hokage.

Hayate, the 3rd proctor for the exam quickly jumped down from where he came from and said, "Before you do Lord Hokage, please allow me to speak first……….Nice to meet you all, but there's something I want you to do before the 3rd exam……………_coughing and wheezing roughly_………We have to have a preliminary before we can move onto the real one."

"Wait…………………why do we have to have a preliminary? Can't we just go onto the 3rd exam?" asked Yumi and Ami.

"Well you see, we never expected so many of you to be here and according to the rules, a preliminary round can be held on any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining. We have to speed it up, and as Lord Hokage said, many important guests will be attending and we do not want to waste their time…………………….Any of you not feeling in top physical condition………….…….._cough_………now, it's time for you to bow out. The preliminary will start immediately; winners are going to be determined on one on one combat, sudden-death elimination."

"What?! We just finished with the last test and you want us to fight?!" exclaimed Kyoto Toshiro

"As I said……..those of you, who don't feel up for it, can decide now, and you will fail." Replied Hayate.

'**There's no way I'm going to back out of this! I'm in this all the way!' **thought Uchiha Katara.

After no one raised their hand, the 3rd proctor said, "Very well, let's begin…………..this screen will determine who you will be match up against. Once your names are called, come down here and fight your best…………………" The screen quickly began choosing random names: Tanaka Suki (sand) vs. Mori Kaiya (sound). "Alright those whose names are on the screen stay here, while the rest of you go up the stairs and watch. All the teams along with their sensei's all went up the stairs, while Suki of the sand, and Kaiya of the sound, stood below, observing each other. "Alright………the winners will be decided on one on one combat, sudden death…………or until I choose to step in. You may begin!" said Hayate as he jumped out of the way.

Suki started off with throwing some shuriken at her opponent. Kaiya of the Sound blew the weapons back by using sound waves. The sand ninja then ran at her opponent, while Kaiya was sending sound waves towards her opponent; Suki managed to jump into the air, avoiding the sound waves, while also surprising Kaiya when she gave a punch and kick to the girl. Kaiya was immediately sent back a few meters when she was hit and was wiping off blood that came from her mouth. She quickly stood up and tried her sound waves jutsu once again; Suki wasn't going to fall for it again, so she jumped up into the air, but what she didn't know was that the waves managed to hit her in the ear and she descended down to the ground. A loud crash could be heard as she hit the ground, while also trying to get the noise out of her ears. "There's no use in that, once the sounds are in, they don't come out. You'll be feeling a bit dizzy and disillusioned, but I guess that comes to my advantage" bragged the sound ninja. Suki was still clutching on her ear, trying to stop the bleeding, and when she tried to stand up, she was a bit wobbly.

Unable to get up, the sand ninja just had to figure out another way to end it; she figured that she wasn't going to lose, and if she was going down, so would her opponent. Taking out a weapon from her kunai holster, she looked at it and hoped it worked. She managed to stand up for a few seconds, throwing a dangerous small fan that came into contact with Kaiya. Suki heard the rip of the sound ninja's clothes as the fan slashed through and managed to poison her opponent. "You!" you're going to pay for that!" screamed Kaiya as she was clutching her side from the cut. "I wouldn't move if I were you; the poison has already entered your system and moving will only allow it to spread quickly." Replied the sand ninja. Both ninja were injured and they were both just glaring at each other, hoping the other one would fall down first. The poison was spreading as quickly as the sound waves in Suki's ear, so after a few minutes of a stare-down, both kunoichi fell down. The proctor called this match a tie.

After watching such an intense battle, the pressure was starting to get to the Uchiha heiress. She was starting to question herself and wonder if she had what it took to come out on top.

_Flashback:_

_It was a nice, summer day, and the sun was beating down upon the village. Many people were out in shorts or trying to find shade from the hot beam of light. Both Uchiha heirs were currently splashing around in a pond in the backyard, until their grandfather interrupted their fun to talk to them._

"_Haku, Katara, I want to tell you something." Said their grandfather, Uchiha Taji. "Now I want you both to always remember true strength is not from power, but from within. If you do not believe in yourself, how do you suppose others will? Never doubt your abilities because you both are stronger than you know."_

_End of flashback._

'**Just like grandpa said……………I'm going to go for this all the way!' thought the Uchiha as she looked at the screen and was determined to go out there and have the pride of her clan and dreams on her back.**

* * *

**I thought that was a long chapter, but I enjoyed it. Next time, there's the preliminaries. **

**Remember to review!**

**Ja Ne!**


	9. Chapter 6: The Preliminaries

_Previous chapter:_

_Flashback:_

_It was a nice, summer day, and the sun was beating down upon the village. Many people were out in shorts or trying to find shade from the hot beam of light. Both Uchiha heirs were currently splashing around in a pond in the backyard, until their grandfather interrupted their fun to talk to them._

"_Haku, Katara, I want to tell you something." Said their grandfather, Uchiha Taji. "Now I want you both to always remember true strength is not from power, but from within. If you do not believe in yourself, how do you suppose others will? Never doubt your abilities because you both are stronger than you know."_

_End of flashback._

'**Just like grandpa said……………I'm going to go for this all the way!' thought the Uchiha as she looked at the screen and was determined to go out there and have the pride of her clan and dreams on her back.**

* * *

Now on with the story! This chapter will feature the preliminaries and will show who will make it to the finals! Keep in mind that I am not going to write about everyone's fight, cause that would be too much to write into one chapter. Now, without further ado, the story continues:

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Preliminaries**

The computer screen then began selecting names and out came :

**Tou Ami vs. Kobayashi Akira -(tie)**

**Inuzuka Aiko vs. Tou Yumi:**

Both leaf kunoichi came down to the floor as their names were selected and shown on the screen. The girls were waiting for the signal from the proctor, Hayate, to start their battle. Once things were ready to go, Aiko put her dog, Suki, onto the ground. The pure black puppy was happily barking, excited to fight side-by-side with her owner.

"Ready, Suki?" asked the Inuzuka. "Woof!"Barked the puppy. Once that was said, both dog and owner jumped into position. Suki had leapt onto Aiko's back, while the Inuzuka made seals to transform her pet into an identical clone. At the same time, both also took soldier pills, which increased their 5 senses and chakra reservoirs. Their appearances began to change into one of animosity with canine-like features.

Tou Yumi was just standing in an ordinary defense position until she stared in horror at what was happening before her. She had sensed that her opponent's chakra had dramatically increased, which had shocked her to no end. Her hazel eyes widened in shock, but were quickly replaced with a look of anticipation.

Aiko along-side her puppy, charged directly at Yumi at such an accelerated speed. Their sharply-pointed claws were directly pointed at her, ready to strike. The rate at which they were moving at gave Yumi the chance to only try to block it. The canine claws hit the target as blood began to gush out from the wounds on Yumi's body. Once again, the Inuzuka and her puppy were going in for the same tactic. Realizing this, Yumi adjusted her position; once one of her opponents were in her range she took hold of her opponent's foot and threw her back in the direction of the other one [clone]. Both clones crashed into each other, and taking this chance, Yumi threw shuriken, which implanted themselves onto their clothing. While both her opponents were struggling to get out of the restraints, she pulled out a whip made up of her own chakra. Using this whip, she swung it at one of the Aikos; the whip attached itself to her leg; Yumi pulled back the whip causing the Aiko to follow the direction of motion. Once close enough, Yumi connected her knuckles to the Aiko's face and swung her into the opposite direction. That Aiko happened to be Suki and the puppy was unconscious on the ground.

The real Aiko managed to escape, but it was too late, her dog had been injured. Of course she was not going to take this so easily; she quickly became infuriated, but calmed down by biting down on her hand. Aiko knew that if he lost her cool, the battle would be in favor for Yumi, and at this rate, she realized that this wasn't the option she wanted in mind. Once calm, she ran at Yumi and tackled her to the ground. Yumi's whip was tossed across the field, lying alone. Aiko was straddling Yumi and then got up and kicked her in the gut. Yumi instantly spit out more blood as she held onto her gut, while she was knocked a few meters away.

Recovering from that blow, Yumi struggled to get up, but managed to. Aiko was accelerating her speed toward the injured girl, but the platinum-blonde formed some seals and created an illusion.

"What's going on?" asked Aiko as she was wandering around a blackened place. Suddenly, vines came from the ground, attaching to the Inuzuka. **'You're kidding me!'** exclaimed Aiko in her mind as she struggled to get out of the tightening grip. Laughing was heard and by using her sensitive ears, she recognized the annoying laughter as Yumi's.

'YUMI! Cut this crap! You're going to pay once I get out of here.' Aiko yelled as more vines continued to hook onto her body. "Aiko, you don't scare me……….you are forgetting where you are; you see I can control anything in here." Said Yumi's voice out of nowhere. The Inuzuka closed her eyes to calm down. She took out a kunai knife and stabbed herself, breaking the illusion; and at the same time, she narrowly avoided a cut to the throat from Yumi.

Both kunoichi had kunai out; both giving their all; and each throwing weapons, while the other deflected them and vice versa. Yumi continued to cough up more blood and realized she would fall down soon; at the same time, the affects of the soldier pill was draining Aiko's energy. Both girls were affected in different ways and for one final strike, both ninja came at each other. Punches were thrown at the other and both girls were forced back. Yumi and Aiko both had trouble getting back up; everyone, including themselves, knew that their injuries were accumulating. Both managed to stand up, but to everyone's shock, both girls fell back down, laying unconscious.

"The match between Tou Yumi and Inuzuka Aiko is over. There is no winner, therefore this match is over." Stated the proctor, finally ending the match. Everyone in the room stared as the battle ended; the battle was pretty intense, and while they all awaited for whose name would come up next, medic nin quickly came to the sides of both girls and took them to the infirmary.

**Shou Kenji vs. Uchiha Haku:**

Once after the match between Yumi and Aiko was settled, the next battle was determined. Both competitors arrived on the battlefield, while the proctor was about to start the match. "Alright, this match between Shou Kenji and Uchiha Haku may begin now!" said the proctor as he moved out of the way. Both guys began by glaring at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Suddenly, Shou Kenji took out chakra wires from his shuriken bag and began wildly throwing them all around the perimeter.

The wires had attached themselves to every part of each wall, making it nearly impossible to avoid touching one. This trap was more like a maze and if you touched awire, weapons and other objects would be thrown at you.

At first, the Uchiha was calmly looking at where the wires were going, before realizing that he was caught in between the huge maze-like mess. If he dared move an inch, there was a chance that he could cause a trap to spring out. As soon as this realization hit him, he turned on his sharingan to see any openings. Once depicting the exit, he slowly, but swiftly made his way toward the opening. But on the way to his goal, he had miscalculated one string under another, which set off weapons flying towards him. He then just forgot about the rest of the strings and tried to avoid each weapon being thrown at him. Quickly taking out a kunai knife, he tried to deflect each object. Luckily, he was able to make it through the maze with few scratches.

Looking around for his opponent, Kenji was nowhere in sight. Instead, Haku began scanning around the whole area to look for Kenji. Still he did not spot him, but saw something that did not seem right. His sister, Katara, was way too quiet in such a situation; at times like these, he knew that his sister would always cheer him on; and at the same time, he saw that Katara no longer had her dragon-shaped birthmark on her left hand.

'**Hn…..it's an illusion! Now, how to get out of here?'** questioned the Uchiha in his mind. Haku then took out a kunai and stabbed himself on the thigh, believing that the pain from the injury would knock him out of the genjutsu. Unfortunately, such beliefs did not work; instead, he just ended up in pain and had decided that he would have to think of another strategy before the battle would be called over. **'Geez……..now what was that one thing father always told us about genjutsu?................That's it**!' Haku exclaimed in his mind as he snapped his fingers at his idea. **'By closing up all my 5 senses, I'll be able to break this illusion!' **thought the Uchiha. With this idea in mind, Haku began to release his mind from his senses, finally breaking apart from this genjutsu.

Once coming back to reality, his body was on the ground, until he lifted himself up, to everyone's surprise. Up and ready to go, he formed the seals for **Mythical Fire Phoenix Jutsu** **(1)** and aimed it directly at Kenji. The attack hit its target and when Haku's opponent was down and wounded, he quickly appeared behind him and kicked him into midair. Haku then took hold of the brown-haired shinobi and spun him around like a top. Kenji was then kicked downward, but before hitting the ground, the Uchiha had thrown him on his back toward the ground, causing a huge crater.

After the smoke had cleared, Hayate declared the battle over and had exclaimed, "The winner is Uchiha Haku!" while raising Haku's arm up in victory. Many of the rookies cheered, but not as loud as his sister. Katara was being a boisterous person at the moment and when her brother went up the stairs, he was soon tackled by a hug from his sister. It was over-bearing, but he managed to last until Katara finally let go. No words were needed to be said; just a smile from each other could describe how they were feeling.

**Yamamoto Sorano (Rain) vs. Nara Shinichi (leaf)- (Shinichi gave up because he knew his body could not go any farther and just decided to quit)**

**Kyoto Toshiro (leaf) vs. Okinawa Jomei (rain) (win for Leaf) **

**Itou Hayato vs. Osaka Akeno -(tie)**

**Hyuuga Akana vs. Hyuuga Keiko:**

Both Hyuugas stepped down, surprised as both their names were shown on the screen. "Alright, the match between Hyuuga Akana and Hyuuga Keiko will begin. The winner will be determined when one is no longer able to fight, or if one dies. Now if I choose to step in at any moment during the match, there shall be no arguments. You may now begin!" stated Hayate.

The Hyuuga kunoichi quickly formed the seals needed to turn on their Byakugan. Their eyes became more detailed with veins popping up and showing on their faces. The pupils in their eyes were more defined and noticeable once their kekkai genkai was active. Both girls stared at the other intently and suddenly began coming to a close combat range to perform the special attack style of the Hyuuga clan: Jyuuken or the gentle fist. Hits with their palms were thrown at each other and dodges were used to avoid each one. Although everyone in the audience was astonished at such a heated battle, some were confused and could not keep up with what was happening.

"Th-this is amazing……but I don't get it……….it doesn't even look like they're hurting each other." Stated Akira.

"This style of fighting is what makes the Hyuuga clan an important asset to the Hidden Leaf Village. It is known as the gentle fist, but this is more of a special type of genjutsu created for their special bloodline. Their style of combat is made to attack the chakra network, which is basically a system that controls the flow of chakra. By controlling the amount of chakra formed in the palm, they each try to hit their opponent's tenketsu (chakra points) or internal organs. By hitting the chakra points, they can block the flow or increase the flow of chakra. Even though the effects do not show at the moment, this type of taijutsu has huge results. Even the most advanced ninja can not withstand this type of fighting-style. You can train your body to fight, but you can never train your body to withstand these attacks." Informed Kakashi.

"A-amazing……..! Go Keiko! We're all rooting for you!" screamed Katara as she was jumping up and down, cheering on her teammate. At the same time, Keiko and Akana were still battling it out with their gentle fist. Back and forth both girls went; each using their chakra to hit the other's tenketsu. Keiko was able to find and opening and managed to hit about 10 points in Akana's arm. At the same time Keiko was striking, Akana found a way to hit some tenketsu in Keiko's leg, making her immobile. '**Oh shoot! I can't move!**' Thought Keiko. The Hyuuga match continued, while Keiko was struggling to keep up with each hit thrown at her; she was slowing down due to her immobilized leg. She was still able to keep up with the pace, but she also had to keep up with her balance as well. Seeing her chance, she aimed for an attack at Akana's chest and landed on her target. Akana was forcefully pushed back and was beginning to cough up some blood from the attack.

Akana forced herself to come back and fight, while Keiko was getting ready to hit one more tenketsu. Once close enough, Akana was too careless and allowed Keiko to hit the last points on Akana's arms, blocking the flow of chakra to her palms, which finally stopped the chakra flow. Akana realized her mistake and saw the results of such an attack. Keiko managed to raise up both sleeves of her opponent's shirt, showing everyone that the points in her arms that were hit were red.

Noticing that Akana would not be able to go on, Hayate quickly said, "This match is over and I now declare Hyuuga Keiko the winner." Hyuuga Akana had a look of rage in her eyes and immediately charged at Keiko. All the leaf jounin, including the proctor, quickly held back the enraged Hyuuga before she would be able to reach Keiko. "Let me go! Why do you want to protect her, huh?! I guess the so called genius gets special treatment!" huffed Akana as she was heavily breathing from her rage. The jounin had let her go, but before she went up the stairs to her teammates, she whispered to Keiko, "You may think you've won, but this war has just started. I promise you, the next time I see you in battle, I'll crush you!" The victorious Hyuuga nervously gulped on the inside, hoping that the threat wouldn't be so serious.

**Nakamura Masako (leaf) vs. Sasaki Haru (sand) – (tie)**

**Aoki Dai (sand) vs. Ishikawa Ronin (sound) (win for sound) **

**Takahiro Kimura (sound) vs. Takahashi Koji (leaf) (win for Leaf) **

**Watanabe Ryozo (rain) vs. Uchiha Katara (leaf):**

"Alright, will the final two contestants who have not been selected, please step down here for the final match." Said the proctor. The two left over were Watanabe Ryozo and Uchiha Katara and they both came onto the battle area. Once they arrived, Hayate stated, "The final match between Watanabe Ryozo versus Uchiha Katara will begin."

"Hn….looks like we get to face each other earlier than expected. But no matter, I'll make this quick!" said Ryozo. The rain ninja quickly went into action, as he controlled his umbrella to rise up into the air. Katara was watching closely, waiting to see what would happen, as others in the arena were anxiously waiting what would come from the Rain Village weapon. The umbrella soon opened up itself and Ryozo began making some seals to use Water Style: Thousand Needles of Death **(2) (as what the title of the attack says, thousands of needles rain down on his opponent)**. Senbon needles quickly rained down on his opponent at such an immediately fast paste. The rain ninja saw that he managed to hit his target, and his opponent was now lying in a bloody heap.

"How pathetic………..I thought you would last longer than this, but I guess that's what you would expect from such a weak leaf brat!" bellowed Ryozo as he stood before Katara's body. 'poof.'The Uchiha's body had disappeared and it turned out to be a substitution. "W-what? Impossible! Now where is she?" asked the baffled rain nin. Ryozo began looking all around him, trying to spot where the Uchiha girl would be.

Suddenly, he felt a presence near him, and slowly turned around to see Katara, kunai in hand, held near his throat. With a threatening glare, Ryozo knew she meant business, but did not want to lose this battle. He was able to narrowly avoid the kunai with just a small scratch on his neck; he then proceeded to hold a kunai knife against Katara's neck. On her face was a look of shock; she turned around and saw the look in Ryozo's eyes: one of pure thirst for blood. The rain ninja saw how frightened she looked and couldn't wait to see the life disappear from her eyes. He quickly went in for the kill and her body dropped down to the ground.

"Katara! Come on! Get up! I know you can do this!" yelled her brother. On his face was a look of sadness, fearing that he may have lost his sister.

Katara's body was dripping in blood, but suddenly, it evaporated into water. "Hmm………..a water clone, huh? Alright where are you, you brat!" exclaimed the ninja, obviously losing his temper.

Right about when Ryozo had turned around to find his opponent, Katara quickly came from behind and hit his pressure point, blacking him out. His body slumped down to the ground and as soon as that had happened, Hayate, the proctor, went to check if he was really out unconscious.

"This final match is over; the winner is Uchiha Katara." Stated the proctor. "Now that all the matches are over, the hokage will now explain the real 3rd exam."

"Will the final eight please come down here, in order for me to go into detail for the 3rd and final exam." Said the 3rd. "Now, I would like to congratulate all of you, who have made it this far. But the final exam will not take place, until a month from now."

"What?! Why can't we just do the test right now?" questioned Toshiro.

"As I had said before the preliminaries, many important guests will be coming to see the 3rd exam and they will not arrive until near the end of the time period. Many guests will be there watching your matches to determine if you have what it takes to become a chuunin. This test is a tournament, where each and every one of you will fight to show us all what you've got. Now another reason why there is such a time period is for you to prepare yourselves; during the preliminaries, you may have shown all your ninja skills, and this month long period will allow you to develop skills that your opponents will not know of. Use this time to improve and show us that you are worthy of being a chuunin. Now, Anko will go around, and I want each of you to take a slip of paper out from the box."

Every finalist took out a slip of paper as Anko came around to each of them. Each finalist was wondering what the papers were for and saw the numbers on their papers. "Alright, now please go around and tell us what number you've chosen." Said the hokage. Each person went around and told them their number. "Alright, you've just chosen the order in which you will fight and who you will fight against."

**The 3****rd**** exam will go as follows:**

Uchiha Haku vs. Yamanoto Sorano

Kyoto Toshiro vs. Uchiha Katara

Ishikawa Ronin vs. Hyuuga Keiko

Sasaki Haru vs. Takahashi Koji

"Wait……….if it's a tournament, then wouldn't there only be one winner?" asked Hyuuga Keiko.

"Well, it may be a tournament, but there will be guests there that will judge you based on your ninja skills. The more chances you get to fight, the more of a chance you will get to prove yourselves to them."

"So, there's a chance for all of us to become chunnin?" asked Haku.

"Yes, but there is also a chance for none of you to become chuunin. But I just want to encourage all of you to work hard during this month. Use this time wisely and the next time I see you, it will be in front of a huge audience." Said the 3rd hokage.

* * *

After the long lecture from the hokage, all the finalists went back to their sensei's for any further instruction.

"This is amazing…..I can't believe we all made it!" screamed both Katara and Keiko, as all three members of Team 7 hugged each other.

"We better get started working on our skills………let's promise each other something…..if we ever have to face each other, let's give it our all." Said Koji.

"You got it!" exclaimed Katara. "Of course!" yelled Keiko. All three teammates/friends put their hands in and vowed to give it their all and not to hold back. After that promise they headed out to start working on their skills alone.

* * *

"Otousan! Ojiisan! I made it to the finals!" the little Uchiha heiress yelled aloud as she was running throughout the mansion, hoping to find her father and grandfather. She was finally able to spot them outside, calmly sipping some tea and talking.

"Otousan! Ojiisan! Did you hear? I made it……_cut off by her grandfather_.. "Yes, Kay, we heard……and we are so proud of you and Haku."

"Aww…………..I wanted to tell you in person." Pouted Katara. "But anyways, I was wondering if both of you could help me train for the 3rd exam?" asked the heiress. Both her father and her grandpa looked at each other, feeling guilty that they already agreed to train her brother. Her father, Wairi was scratching his head nervously, trying to find a way to not hurt her feelings, until he finally said, "Katara, it would be our honor to help you, gomen but we already promised your brother that we would help him. It would be unfair if I helped both you and Haku, do you understand?" said Lord Uchiha.

"Alright………….I guess that's fine……….I'll find someone else." Katara said as she slowly and disappointedly walked away.

* * *

Lady Uchiha was peacefully walking around the huge garden of the mansion until she saw her daughter sulking, while sitting by a nearby tree. The mansion had a huge garden with various herbs and plant life that would make any greenhouse or flower shop jealous. Katara's mother saw how upset she was and went over to find out what was wrong. Lady Uchiha walked near her daughter and sat down while putting her daughter on her lap.

After all these years, Chihiro still looked more beautiful than ever. Her hair and eyes were still as bright and brilliant as it was many years ago. She still had her stunning features along with her great sense of wisdom.

"Katara, why don't you tell okaasan what is wrong?" questioned her mother.

"Father and grandpa are going to train Haku for the exams while I have no one to train me." The heiress sadly said.

Giggle….. "Dear, if you wanted any help, I would be happy to assist you on your training." Happily said Lady uchiha.

"But mother, are you as strong as father?" asked Katara.

"No, but I'm was better than him at some skills and I'd be happy to help." Replied her mother. "If you want more assistance, why don't you ask one of your friends to help you, huh?"

"That's actually a good idea! And I know just who to ask!" Katara excitedly said as she ran off to her friends's house. "I'll be right back mother!" she screamed as she headed off.

'**That daughter of mine………….she reminds me of myself when I was her age.'** Thought Lady Uchiha as she was reminiscing about her younger years.

* * *

Uchiha Katara had arrived to a nearby house near her own. She quickly knocked on the door, hoping that the person she wanted to ask for help would open it. To her luck, the one person she wanted to ask for help did open the door and allowed her to come in.

"I'm guessing you are here to see Sasuke? He's outside training………" said Itachi.

"Actually, I'm here to ask a favor from you……….."shyly replied Katara.

"Let me guess, you want me to help train you for the 3rd exam." Plainly stated the Uchiha prodigy.

"NO! Wait………….actually yes! So will you?!" asked the heiress.

"Hn…." Replied Itachi.

"Alright, I'll take that as a yes! So let's go!" exclaimed Katara as she took hold of Itachi's hand, leading him toward the Uchiha mansion. Itachi was being forcefully dragged by a five-year old girl and he felt embarrassingly degraded. '**This is going to be something interesting.'** Thought the Uchiha prodigy.

* * *

Both Itachi and Lady Uchiha were over-seeing Katara's training. The heiress had been practicing for about over half of the day and it was beginning to get dark. Katara was currently trying to copy the technique that Itachi had shown her to improve her aim, while at the same time, her mother had shown her a demonstration of nature manipulation.

_Flashback:_

"_Katara, I see you brought your friend here………." Uchiha Chihiro stated._

"_Yep! Itachi agreed to help!" exclaimed the five-year old._

'_**I didn't agree to anything…………….you just pulled me away before I could answer'**__ thought Itachi._

"_Alright, first I want you to concentrate your chakra on this piece of paper." Her mother said as she handed her daughter the piece of paper._

"_Ok………..but I don't see how this will help." Said Katara as she began to put chakra into the paper and suddenly the paper, was cut in half (wind), burned (fire), got soggy (water), scrunched up (lightning), and crumbled (earth). _

"_Amazing………it seems that you have the ability to manipulate all the basic 5 elements." Stated her mother in shock._

"_Ok, so what does that really mean?" questioned Katara._

"_It simply means you can basically use any element you choose, if you are able to master each one. Now for the next month, we will both focus on nature manipulation as well as other important skills that we can sharpen." Said Itachi. "Now, I will show you something, that will come of some use to you………..stay back."_

_Itachi swiftly set up different targets in the training area, including one behind a huge boulder. He then took out enough kunai knives and jumped into the air. He then was falling down with his head coming down first, but before even reaching the ground, he activated his sharingan and threw each kunai, hitting each target. _

"_WOW! That was awesome!" exclaimed Katara. "Alright now you try……….this will help you improve on your aim and plus by including the sharingan, it will help you advance it as well." Said Itachi._

_End of flashback_

Now at the moment, Katara had tried to do the same exact thing Itachi had done a few hours earlier, but couldn't hit the target behind the boulder. She managed to hit all the other ones except that one, which was really making her mad. She could tell that Itachi was getting impatient with her, but he didn't show it. Plus, she wanted to make him impressed at her because after all, he was one of her heroes she looked up to.

Trying once more, she leaped into the air, activated her sharingan, and threw each kunai precisely and then landed onto her feet. She then opened her eyes and saw that she hit all the targets, including the one she had trouble with. Katara had missed the look of surprise on Itachi's face when he saw that she had accomplished his task. He quickly hid his look of surprise and came up to congratulate her. "Nice work………now we will have to move onto nature manipulation." Stated Itachi.

'**Amazing…………she's already able to do this type of skill? She may be a tough competitor in the exams than I thought.'** Thought Itachi. The Uchiha prodigy had to admit that this girl had some talent, after all it took him about 3 days to get this right, while it only took her a few hours to do this.

"I'm up for it! Believe it!" screamed Katara as she was jumping up and down, happy that she was able to finish this task before the day was over.

"Katara, you better save the rest of your strength for tomorrow………….." said her mother. "Thank you Itachi for helping my daughter."

"Your welcome. I'll be back tomorrow." Said the prodigy as he took his leave toward his home.

* * *

"Happy late 5th Birthday, Haku and Katara!' yelled the whole Royal Family, including their servants. Everyone was gathered around, celebrating their birthday with presents all around. After opening all the presents on the table, they had gotten new weapons, more books on fighting, medic supplies, new backpacks and more new ninja gear. They were both so happy, that they didn't really care how much they got; they just cared about the people around them because they loved each and every one.

"Hold on, we have one more present. And they're from your father, grandfather, me." Said Lady Uchiha as she handed two small boxes to her two pride and joys. Both Katara and Haku opened the boxes and each box held a gem necklace for each child. (The necklaces are like the necklace that Naruto wears; Katara has the identical one to the first hokage, while Haku has a crimson colored one). Katara and Haku both thanked their mother, father, and grandfather, along with everyone else.

Everyone had stayed up late, celebrating with such a fun birthday party. When it was over, both Uchiha twins headed to their rooms to get some sleep. They both had such a night and now they both needed rest for their training tomorrow.

* * *

**Hope you guy senjoyed that chapter! Next time will be the final exam!**

**Until then, make sure to review! **

**Ja Ne! **

**katarauchiha653719**


	10. Chapter 7: The Final Exam

**Without further ado, let's get on with the story! **

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Final Exam**

**A month later:**

All eight finalists had been waiting for this day. The month-long period for training was now over and today was the start of the third and final exam. Katara had been practicing on nature manipulation and was able to actually come up with her own attacks using the elements. She had also managed to find her own style of taijutsu and along with that, she managed in advancing her sharingan. Many of the other contestants, including her brother, also improved on their skills, and this final exam stage was one worth waiting for.

Mostly everyone in the village would be there, including most of the Uchiha clan, since their heirs would be in the fight. Many of the villagers were putting in bets to who would win and which would lose. So far, most people had more faith in both Uchiha twins. At the moment, Jounin were letting people into the stadium, including important guests like the feudal lords and the kages. Guests and villagers took their seats, knowing that the contestants would be arriving soon. People quickly began getting impatient and they started to complain about the waiting period. The Jounin did nothing about this, but instead, the 3rd Hokage stepped in and said, "Please, all of you calm down; the exams will begin shortly. If you were all able to wait for a month for this, then you will be able to wait for a few minutes. I'm sure our finalists will be here shortly."

* * *

Uchiha Katara was staring at herself in the mirror. From the expression she was making, you could tell that she was a bit nervous about this day. More than ever, she wanted to show everyone how much she had improved and was a bit excited at the same time. She was newly dressed in a navy-blue tank-top along with a black skirt, with gray under shorts. Along with her new appearance, she wore black fingerless gloves that covered up her dragon-shaped birthmark. She also adorned her leaf headband on her forehead along with her real, exact necklace of the first hokage around her neck; her kunai holster was strapped on the side of her right leg.

A knock on her door was heard, as Uchiha Haku came in. "Hey Kay, you ready? It's time to go before we're all late. Dad, mom, and everyone else are already there, including Sasuke and Itachi."

"Yeah, let's go." Replied the nervous 5 year-old. Her brother noticed her anxiety, and tried to comfort her, "Kay, come on, there's nothing to worry about, just give it your all, and I promise you, I'll be cheering you on!" With that being said, the Uchiha heiress put on a big smile, and took hold of his hand and began to run out of the mansion, toward the battle arena.

Both Uchihas were running toward their destination, and once there, they met inside with the same proctor that they had for the preliminaries. All the 8 finalists were kept in an average sized room, where the rules were explained to them. Each of the finalists' families/guardians were there alongside them, along with the hokage.

"All 8 of you are here, so now we can begin with the final stage of the exam. Now just like the preliminaries, the winner will be determined by one on one combat, sudden death, or until your opponent gives up, or if I step in." said Hayate.

"I want you all to keep in mind that there are many important guests out there watching you. I want you all to put your heart and soul in these matches; let us not forget that you are fighting with the pride of your village on you back, along with your dreams. Now without further ado, let us begin." Said the hokage.

* * *

All the 8 finalists were entering into the arena, standing proudly in front of the large audience. Cheers were heard from all 360 degrees of the circular stadium. Once the crowd was able to calm down, the proctor, stated, "The first match will be between Uchiha Haku versus Yamanoto Sorano; those of you who do not have a match at the moment, please make your leave to the upper levels of the arena to wait for your turn."

Both Haku and Sorano were the only two left standing at the bottom of the arena. Many people were cheering on both opponents, while the Uchiha clan was cheering the loudest for one of their prodigies. Both finalists stood looking at each other, waiting for Hayate's signal to continue. "Alright, you both know the rules, there is no time limit, on my signal, and you may begin. GO!" and he jumped out of the way. The crowd suddenly was overcome by silence; the wind blew across the arena in an eerie feel that sent shivers up most people's backs.

The Uchiha was considering with thought that Sorano would mainly use water-based jutsus, since she originates from the Hidden Rain Village. He also felt a huge murderous intent just from staring into her blood red eyes. From what he saw when she fought Shinichi, he didn't get a chance to see much, but he was expecting something big. The rain kunoichi suddenly got into a stance where she was concentrating on her chakra flow. Water began to rise up from out of nowhere and she could see the shocked face on her opponent's face. She quickly smiled and returned back to her technique. The whole bottom of the stadium was beginning to flood with water and soon the whole battlefield was full of up to 10 feet of water.

Both ninja had to use their chakra to be able to walk on water, so now both were standing on the water. Without any hesitation, Sorano got into a running motion, and charged directly at Haku; seeing this, he moved out of the way, but before he could analyze what had happened, he got severely punched in the gut for at least 7 times and each time he had tried to dodge. Having not turned on the sharingan, he decided to use it now; once again Sorano was coming in at an incredible fast speed; by using his sharingan to slow the pace a bit, he saw that she was able to control the water to make her go faster; it was as if she was ice skating on the liquid! The rain nin was going too fast, that the only thing that Haku could do at the moment, was try to block, which was turning out to have varying results. At most, he was having trouble because he ended up with some senbon and scratches on his body. Suddenly, the Uchiha felt a huge wave rush over to him and knocked him clearly 10 feet across the stadium. He ended up on the opposite side and he managed to crash into the opposing wall, causing a huge hole to be made from the crash.

Uchiha Haku managed to get out of the rubble and rubbed his head as he got up. He saw that Sorano was rushing towards him, while on top of a wave. Once again, that strong, murderous gage was seen in her eyes. He knew if he didn't think of something quick, he would be finished. He looked up into the audience and saw the look of his parents, but more importantly, he turned his head to the left and saw the worry look on his sister's face. _Breath_ **'This is a lot harder than it looks, let's see, she summoned up the water to use to her advantage; I have to find a way to stop her speed and then counterattack.' **

Sorano performed another set of seals and out of her mouth came spheres of water, headed directly at Haku; he quickly countered with his own fireball jutsu and once both attacks hit each other, his fireballs were so hot that when both elements mixed together, steam was the result. The fusion of both attacks caused Sorano to back up from the heat, giving Haku the chance to disappear. The rain nin noticed her opponent had disappeared, and was worriedly searching for him, until she felt his presence behind her. Her eyes widened in shock, and they got bigger as she noticed that she was kicked up into the air. The Uchiha quickly leaped up to the air as well and took hold of Sorano and began to spin at a rapid rate. Before the landing, since his opponent was dizzy beyond concern, he let go, took hold of her arms and threw her head first into the water, causing a gigantic splash that shook the whole stadium.

Without any warning, the rain nin sprouted out from the water, with a more furious look than ever. She was soaking wet with her own summoning and she charged directly at him. Haku was ready and once she was about two feet away from him, he transformed his own chakra into a lightning current that went throughout and around his body. The current was making its way through the water, and since water conducts electricity, Sorano was hit with full force. She was electrified to the max, and once Haku called it off, she was lying there unconscious, as her body began to sink into the water. Hayate came to check her pulse, but found that due to being exposed to too much of the Uchiha's attack, she was proclaimed dead. "The victor is Uchiha Haku!"

Everyone in the audience began to cheer for his victory, as he stood there with his hands supporting himself on his knees, taking deep, calming breaths. He exited the battle grounds, as the next match was called. "Will Kyoto Toshiro and Uchiha Katara, please come down….cough…"

Once both leaf ninja were on the battle grounds, which was currently still flooded with water, Hayate said, "Alright, now, without further ado, let's begin!" _cough_. The proctor again jumped out of the way and let the two leaf ninja fight it out.

From what Katara saw from Toshiro, he was one tough opponent. She remembered seeing him being a prodigy at taijutsu and his normal speed, or what was considered normal to him was a lot swifter than others. Even though he was known as a prankster, he was also well known for his movements.

Both ninja were standing atop the water, observing the other, waiting for the other to make a move. It was quiet once again, as the audience intensely gazed at the new finalists on the battle field; everyone was getting restless, wanting at least one person to make a move.

Kunai and shuriken were thrown from both directions, with each projectile colliding into each other with a clinking sound. Both shinobi each with a kunai in hand, jumped into action as they both met up in midair. Over and over again, both of them kept leaping up and falling down onto their feet, as they were both trying to overpower the other. Seeing that this would be useless, once Katara had landed upon her feet on top of the water, she got into an offensive position with her legs evenly spread out, with one hand forward and the other behind her head; both palms were facing her opponent. Toshiro saw the tactic that she was going to perform, so he too took an offensive position that would allow him to counter. Giving her a shot, he kindly gave her a slight hand wave to show that he was ready. The Uchiha quickly sprinted toward Toshiro with a chakra filled fist; when she was about to make contact, she saw that he was no longer there, so she ended up in making a huge splash on the water; it was as if he had disappeared in no time at all.

'**WHAT THE?!' **thought the heiress, realizing that Toshiro was gone from sight. Suddenly, a kick connected onto her side with such force, causing her to fly 8 feet to the right and to cough up blood. The Uchiha was currently, lying on her side, coughing up blood, and trying to get up to fight. **'That attack was full of such strength; there wasn't even any chakra added into that; if I can't keep up with his speed and attacks, then I'm going to need to come up with a plan to slow his pace down. Alright, so the only thing he can count on his taijutsu, but if I got rid of that factor, then I'll be able to move onto the next round……..GOT IT!' **

Kyoto Toshiro was currently standing across the arena from Uchiha Katara, waiting for her to get up. The look on his face was one of sheer seriousness. Once the Uchiha was up on her feet, she began to put her plan into action. She ran straight forward with a closed fist, ready to come into contact with Toshiro, while he also did the same. Once close enough, both finalists threw their punches forward, and they connected with a loud crackle along with big splashes of water. But suddenly, a powerful kick was delivered to Katara's gut and she was blown back, grasping onto her hurt stomach. The crash from that strong kick was filled with such force, that it caused her to plummet into the side of the stadium, causing a huge crater.

"KATARA!" yelled Uchiha Haku, as he watched in terror as his sister slammed into the opposing wall.

The whole audience watched in awe at how much strength Toshiro had. From the crater, came out the Uchiha, all scratched up with her clothes in dirty shape. Both Katara and Toshiro were deeply breathing, since they put most of their strength into the last attack. The Uchiha had her hands on her knees, deeply taking intakes of air.

Uchiha Katara quickly got up and began to heal her knuckle that absorbed most of Toshiro's powerful punch; alongside that, she also used her chakra to heal her side, in which his kicked almost knocked the living daylights out of her.

From the other side of the arena, to the crowd, it seemed like Katara's opponent was injured because it seemed like he was having trouble getting up. The Uchiha heiress was holding onto her side as she dragged her body to move closer to her opponent. Toshiro was trying to move his body, but he realized that when he tried to move his feet, he was actually moving his thumb. **'What's going on? She must've done something to cause this…………..that's it! Thinking back to that punch, there was something strange about it. It was no ordinary punch; I thought I felt a tingling sensation, but I thought it was just my imagination, so Katara must have done something.'**

Toshiro was still have a hard time figuring out what was happen, until he stopped his train of thought and noticed that the said Uchiha was in front of him. At the moment right now, he was vulnerable and the look on his face was one of fear. "What, what did you do?" questioned the Kyoto.

Breathing deeply while holding her side, the Uchiha replied, "By now, you should've figured out that that punch was not an ordinary one; that punch was filled with condensed chakra, which once it connected with your fist, I was able to convert it into electricity and it went throughout your whole body, disrupting your nervous system. The electrical impulses I sent through caused mixed signals to go throughout your body, which is why your body won't function properly."

"I see……..so that whole thing was basically a distraction from what you were intentionally trying to do, even though you got injured in the process." Said Toshiro.

"Yes, it was. Even if I did miss, I was still 5 steps ahead of you. During that time I was lying on my back, I was thinking through different scenarios. But my main objection was to slow you down, not to physically injure you." Katara told Toshiro. "Now time to end this." The heiress said as she pulled out a kunai and out it against her opponent's throat.

"Alright, you win….." said Toshiro in defeat, realizing that there would be no point in continuing seeing that he wouldn't be able to move. The kunai was quickly put away, as Katara had heard what he had said; after all, she wasn't a bloodthirsty murderer, so she saw no need to kill her opponent.

"I declare this match between Kyoto Toshiro and Uchiha Katara to be over. The winner is Uchiha Katara." Declared Hayate.

Once that was said, Katara kneeled down next to Toshiro and began to rid his body of unneeded electrical impulses. "Arigatou." Said Kyoto Toshiro as he got up and saw that things were back to normal.

"No problem." Replied the Uchiha. She suddenly came back to reality and realized that the whole crowd was cheering her on. She got onto her feet and looked around the whole stadium, hearing them all call out her name. The heiress was a bit flustered at all the attention, but she quickly got over it and just began to wave back to people as she began to exit out of the arena. Before reaching the stairs she saw her brother and gave him a thumbs up; in return she also got one along with a proud smile.

* * *

"Let's move on; Ishikawa Ronin and Hyuuga Keiko come down to the arena." Declared the 3rd exam proctor. Both opponents came quickly down into the arena; but when Keiko was making her way down the stairs, she spotted Katara and as she passed by her teammate and friend, she heard a "good luck," whispered her way. The Hyuuga quickly smiled back at her friend and gave a thumbs up; she then quickly went down the stairs, as the Uchiha stood at the foot of the steps and hoped her teammate would be fine.

The Uchiha heiress was lost in her own train of thought as she made it onto the next level. Her brother and her other teammate quickly made their way to her to congratulate her for the victory, but Katara didn't notice them come at her as she was in a disillusioned state, staring at the menacing stare of Ronin. Her eyes widened as she remembered at how heartless he was as she saw him quickly kill Aoki Dai from the Hidden Sand Village. Visions of blood squirting from every angle came to mind, as the Uchiha heiress was shivering from fright. She fell down onto her knees as Ronin's intense bloodthirsty glare stared at her own eyes.

"Katara!" yelled Haku and Koji at the same time as they both came to kneel down next to her. "What's wrong?" asked her brother.

"I-it's nothing……it's just that, don't you remember when Ronin completely killed Dai without a sweat?" stated Katara.

"Yeah, I mean we were all there……" replied her teammate Koji.

"Well, I'm just worried; what if Keiko gets severely injured?" asked the heiress.

"Katara, you have to understand, Keiko is strong; she is one of the strongest people I've ever known. Just have faith in her." Stated Koji.

"Yeah, come on Kay, now let's go cheer her on" said her brother as he and Koji put their hands out to pull her up. A big smile was put onto her face as she stood up and watched the battle between Keiko and Ronin begin, but her instincts couldn't help but warn her about a dangerous premonition, coming her way.

* * *

"You both may begin!" the proctor said as he leaped out of the way. The sound nin couldn't hold in his bloodthirsty intent, as he smirked at his opponent. The Hyuuga quickly made the handsign to activate her kekkei genkai, the Byakugan. Her pure white eyes soon became more defined with her veins popping out and showing her opponent the true power of the Hyuuga clan. The sound nin still looked unphased; he wasn't in the least bit scared; he seemed more excited that he would fight a strong enemy.

"I hope you last longer than that pathetic sand ninja. Frankly, for your own sake, you might wish to last longer, so I'll tell you what, I'll allow you to have the first move." The deep, penetrating voice of the sound ninja said. Nothing was said from the Hyuuga and no movements were made, so Ronin assumed that she wasn't taking up his offer. All that Keiko was doing was getting into a defensive stance with her legs spread wide and her hands in flat palms.

"Trust me, you don't want me to make the first move, so take my offer and just go first; fine, if you're too stubborn, I'll go ahead and go first; but you're going to regret it!" Ronin loudly said. With that threat said, the demeaning sound ninja jumped straight into action and formed some unfamiliar seals. "Fists of Sound Waves!" yelled Ronin. Suddenly a strong impact of punches in the form of sound waves began to head straight at Keiko. The Hyuuga closed her eyes and focused on the accuracy of the waves and soon enough, swiftly opened her eyes as the attacks came at her. Getting into a counterattack stance, with her feet and hands at the ready, she got ready for the sound waves. Once they were in her range of sight, she began to use the specialized taijutsu that her clan was known for: the gentle fist. Her palms were quickly moving in such amazing speed as she blocked each sound wave. But she miscounted one sound wave punch and as it was nearing, her eyes widened, but she quickly remained calm and spun up into the air, along with summoning up enough chakra to create a sphere of chakra to surround her body, which also caused the surrounding water to move in a sphere direction as well. (also known as Eight Divination Palm of the Hands, Heavenly Spin).

Ishikawa Ronin was a bit shocked that this leaf ninja was able to evade his attack and he began charging straight at her. Hyuuga Keiko was standing on the opposing side, seeing that he was running straight for her, so now the Hyuuga felt that it was her turn to show him what she was made of. Keiko quickly got into a lower stance than she was at before. Putting her palms together, she concentrated her chakra in her palms and as soon as he was within her range, she quickly summoned up most of her chakra into her left palm, and she thrusted the palm at him, causing a thick stream of air and chakra to hit the sound nin. The attack, made by Keiko was known as Eight Divination, Elemental Thrust, sent her opponent to the opposing side of the stadium (as if there were not enough craters in the arena).

Everyone in the arena, especially her own clan, stared at this Hyuuga prodigy in surprise due to the fact that she came up with that own attack by herself. Suddenly, out from all that rubble, Ronin came out with a look of fury that showed through his dark green eyes. His red hair also seemed to flare up, and Keiko saw that he was no longer playing around, but he was serious. The Hyuuga was also not kidding around; she felt the words of the hokage flow through her; "fight with the pride of your village on your back along with your own dreams." **'I will….you can count on that.'**

The crowd suddenly got silent as they also felt the extent of the sound ninja's ferocity. Strangely enough, it wasn't the fact that his stare looked weird, but it was the fact that his appearance had also changed into a more monster-like look. Black marks were spreading throughout his body and his skin turned into a grayish tint, while his red hair turned into a more crimson color; his eyes became black, out from his head came a huge horn, and his fingernails got longer and sharper.

Looking closely at Ronin's transformation, Keiko began to see with her Byakugan that his chakra storage levels were quickly rising. All the other finalists in the upper level felt the change in chakra levels and were clearly shocked.

'**This is bad! Never in a million years could I have imagined that he would be able to do this! Keiko, be careful!' **thought the Uchiha heiress.

The Hyuuga's eyes widened in shock and couldn't believe what she was seeing happening in her opponent's chakra network. It seemed that the marks on his body were spreading faster and faster; plus his chakra now felt different. **'Seems like the standards of this fight has been raised; I'm going to have to be extra careful…………and I'm going to need that luck from Katara. Alright, I need to focus; according to what I've gathered up so far, Ronin seems to have some sort of curse mark that gives him more power; but everything comes with a price, so obviously there must be some side effects. So I need to attack him, before he attacks me!' thought the Hyuuga.**

The new body of Ronin's was finally complete, and from the looks of it, it was more demonic and grotesque than necessary. Hyuuga Keiko was ready to move in and stop her opponent; since her attacks were mainly based on close range distance, she would have to be able to get close enough. The sound nin was currently staring menacingly at his opponent, watching her every movements. Keiko began to circle around Ronin, as he in turn began to stare at her. In a blink of an eye, Keiko was in her own fighting range and began to use Eight-Divination Signs, 128 palms of the hand; each of her palms struck so fiercely and precise, that it was quickly affecting the sound nin's chakra and some of his internal organs. Once after reaching 128 palms, the Hyuuga swiftly stopped her attack and stood before her opponent. Keiko's byakugan was still on and was fiercely staring back at her opponent, checking the impact of her attacks on his body; his head was limp, as if it was hanging there like a doll left alone on an empty shelf. A loud crack was heard as the sound nin's head was lifted up, looking more evil and scary as he stared directly at Keiko. An evil grimace was seen on his monster-like features; this was a look no one, especially his opponent would have liked to see; his stare was haunting and mystifying that the Hyuuga seemed frozen in place.

Suddenly, a huge energy blast of dark red chakra managed to directly hit Keiko without her realization. Her eyes widened in fright as the blast hit her square on her body; the attack caused the Hyuuga to be caught off guard as she was thrown back to another opposing wall of the stadium. The crash was like an earthquake that rumbled the whole stadium. Out from the rubble and smoke from the crash came Hyuuga Keiko, looking more beat up than ever. The Hyuuga was struggling to stand up as she was holding onto part of the stadium for dear life. She was coughing up a storm of blood, trying to stop herself; her teammates and Haku were staring at how she got seriously injured so quickly; to them, it was unbelievable that such power came from the sound nin.

Still coughing, Keiko got out of her stumbling position and was getting ready to put up a fight again. Her byakugan was turned on again, (as it was turned off when she crashed), and her palms were held up high. She still continued to cough out blood and her face and clothes were all dirtied and scratched up.

**KEIKO'S POV:**

My heart was beating quickly as I saw what had become of Ronin. Never have I imagined that his chakra would increase by such many levels. At that time, I felt that my best bet was to use the Eight Divination Signs, 128 palms for the hand, in order to stop his rising chakra network.

As I began to circle around Ronin, his menacing glare kept piercing through me, as if he saw right into my soul. At that moment, I felt a strong shiver of fear, but ignored it as I saw an opening and went in with my attack. As I came in with the 128 palms of the hand, I made sure to hit vital organs along with blocking up tenketsu points in his body. Once my attack was over, I quickly stepped back and checked my own work. Suddenly, I felt a stronger rise in chakra as Ronin's head lifted up and stared directly into my Byakugan; right then and there, I felt like I was frozen with fear and that my body wouldn't move or respond to me. My own eyes suddenly widened as I envisioned my own demise; I saw him slowly coming up behind me and ripping me to shreds, as I was watching in fear; once I came back to reality, I felt a strong blast of chakra coming from my opponent. I was too caught up in the vision of my own demise that I was not able to get away or block his attack. I felt my body being thrown backwards to the other side of the arena. I felt my back quickly slam into the wall, creating a huge crater as I felt the whole wall crack. That attack of his was took a great amount out of me. As I came out from the rumble, I could feel the affect of his blast on my body; I was trying to cover up my injuries, but I couldn't help but feel a bit wobbly as I tried to stand up with the help of the arena. I also felt a strange coppery taste come from my mouth, as I realized that I was coughing up blood from my impact from the wall; I couldn't contain it in anymore as I fell down to my knees and started to lose more of my blood. I felt the stares of everyone as they saw what kind of state I was in; I knew that my teammates would be worried about me, so I didn't dare to look at them; all I heard was Koji, Haku, and Katara screaming out my name and telling me to get up and fight. Obviously, my body began to respond on its own, as it seemed that I wouldn't give up with battle without a fight.

**Back to normal pov:**

After several minutes of coughing nonstop, Keiko soon made her body get up without its consent; she felt pain everywhere on her body, but she kept pushing herself to get up and fight back. The sound ninja was waiting for his opponent on the other side, as he was smirking at her struggle to get up and walk back to fight him.

Both of her teammates saw how much pressure Keiko was putting on herself and on her own body; and they both knew that this was going to be too much for her. Koji was looking sternly at the Hyuuga, while Katara couldn't help but feel worried on the outside; somehow, she knew this would end badly. **'This is bad! She's putting too much strain and at the condition she's in, there's no way her body can withstand it. I know I should put my faith in her, but at this point in time, he's going to destroy her if she doesn't surrender.' Thought the Uchiha heiress.**

The sound nin's opponent was slowly making her way toward him, and he couldn't help but smile on the inside seeing her struggle. He seemed content with the way things were going and decided to play with her some more. After a few more minutes of waiting, Keiko finally made it close enough to Ronin and was in front of his demonic form. She was still holding onto her side as she tried her hardest to stand up straight as her body fought back the pain as she kept on pushing herself.

"Had enough already.." calmly stated the sound ninja.

"I-i-i-ii-i-I'm , n-n-not done yet! You can do whatever u want with me, but I'm not going to give up this fight!" screamed Keiko; after saying this, the Hyuuga no longer held onto her side and just let all the pain inside her body be ignored. She looked more determined than ever, which shocked the sound ninja; "Fine then, I was going to let you live, but it seems you just got your death sentence, right here and now!' replied the demonic being.

'**It doesn't matter anymore….whether if I die or live through this; all that matters to me is to show them how much I've grown!' though Keiko **as she steadily got into a defensive position before her opponent. She no longer was shakingly trying to put herself together, but now she was more determined than ever to give it her all; Ronin was surprised at the changed expression on her face and he was even more excited to make her suffer.

The sound ninja quickly got down on all fours and ran directly at her as she got her palms out and held them towards the water. As he got close enough, she thrusted both palms into the water, causing a huge, powerful splash, that not only stopped her opponent, but also caused a huge hole in the ground, in which the water drained through it. Now all the water that once flooded the arena, was now gone as both finalists now stood on solid ground.

Both of the finalists glared deeply into each other as they were ready to fight back even more. Ronin quickly charged at Keiko and ran around her in the form of a circle. Seeing that the sound ninja was trying to confuse her, Keiko slowly closed her eyes and opened up her senses; as soon as she was able to think more clearly, she noticed his movements and by summoning enough chakra into her foot, she swiped it along the floor, in which a defining line of chakra came out and hit, and tripped her opponent. While Ronin was falling down, she managed to catch him off guard and she used the gentle fist to hit her opponent in the heart.

Ronin was pushed a bit back and began to cough due to the cause of the hit. By the expression on his face, Keiko could tell that his ferocity was increased as he looked at her with a death glare. As quickly as he had recovered, so did he come from behind and managed to land a kick on Keiko's back side. A crack was indicating to the both of them that her rib cage just broke; Keiko was yelping in pain and clutching onto her side as she was kicked up into the air; once in mid air, she turned around and saw Ronin himself, there behind her. With his devil smirk, he was happy to oblige and kicked her right down, into the ground. The loudest slam was heard as Keiko's body made contact with the ground. The Hyuuga was lying face down, as she saw her opponent come next to her, ready to make is final move on her.

Chuckle… "Ready to die, trash?" Ronin asked as he came closer to her with a fist clearly full of condensed red chakra. No reply was made as Keiko couldn't move; she felt that no matter what she did, she wouldn't have been able to avoid such a blow, and plus her broken rib cage wouldn't let her do anything and the lost of blood was making her become unconscious, so there was nothing left, except for her to just take the hit. As she was imagining the worst outcome and waiting for the hit, it never came to her. All she saw was a certain teammate in front of her, blocking the attack, as Keiko was about to fall unconscious; she swore she heard people talking and she swore she felt two more people behind her, and as she closed her eyes, she thought about what she just saw and heard.

**Keiko's POV:**

By the time my body hit the ground, I knew I was done for; the impact was so great that I was sure that I was going to die here. My body was in too much pain that I couldn't even stand up or move an inch, even if I wanted to. I felt my opponent approaching me, and right then and there, I knew it was the end for me. Waiting for the pain to just end…………I realized it never came.

I opened me eyes; I never knew that I closed them, and right in front of me, I saw, Uchiha Katara; I didn't know how she appeared so quickly, or how she was able to absorb all the force from his punch, but at that moment, that all didn't matter; what did matter was she took a blow for me, like a true friend always did. Katara was holding Ronin's fist with one hand, and pushed him back about 10 feet, from what I could tell from lying on the ground.

"Don't you dare, don't you dare, HURT HER!" yelled Katara with her piercing sharingan eyes activated, full of rage. Suddenly, I saw two more people stand beside Katara, and from what I could see, since I felt that dizziness was overcoming me, they were Haku and Koji.

"Hmm………….you're just lucky you made it in time, or else your little friend there would've been dead." Replied Ronin as he went back to his normal self.

Uchiha Katara knelt down on one knee and wiped her knuckles on Keiko's blood on the ground; then she pointed directly at the sound nin and said, "I promise you, when I get my chance to fight you, I'll win!"

And with that, I gave a smile as the darkness overcame me.

**Normal POV:**

"Hn…don't make me laugh; but I appreciate the guts and we'll see who wins when I fight against you." The sound nin said as he walked passed the three genin.

While Hayate announced Ronin as the winner, Katara, Haku, and Koji knelt down to see how Keiko was doing. Immediately after the battle was over, medics were called over to check her condition.

All Katara did right there was hear what the medics had to say; all she heard were bits of whispers, like "broken ribs," "blood loss," and much more. This whole atrophic event made her reminisce, back when she was trained by Tsunade herself to be a medic.

_Flashback:_

"_Sorry I'm late Tsunade-sama, I was training with my brother and father, and I guess I lost track of time." Replied Katara as she was scratching the back of her head, afraid what her teacher would say; after all, the heiress had heard about Tsunade's tempers and hoped she wasn't on her bad side._

"_I'll let it slide for now, but don't let t happen again. Today, I'll be teaching you the basics, but before you start, I must tell you something." Said Tsunade with a serious tone._

"_What is it sensei?" asked the heiress._

"_I'm going to tell you what it takes to be a full-pledged medic; as you may know, being a medic takes serious skill and time. Only ninjas that are the best at chakra control can be medics; out on the battlefield, comrades will depend on your skills to help them and by having at least one medic on a squad, it will raise the success rate by a minimum of 20 percent. Not many medics are used to fight out in battle, but there are some instances where medics can fight. It is a medic's job to be ready for anything and you need to work well under pressure. During this training, your skills will be put to the test, and I want you to always remember, that people's lives lay in your own hands. Are you willing to risk that, Katara?"_

"_Yeah, I'm ready…"confidently replied Katara._

"_Very well; then there's one final thing I'm going to tell you; I want you to live by this one rule as a medic: It is our job to help people who need it; no matter if they are good or bad; a fully-pledged medic is willing to help anyone."_

_End of flashback_

'**Strange how I remember that……I can't believe I surpassed her in 6 months.' Thought Katara**

"Hello, earth to Katara!" yelled her brother as he was waving his hand in front of her face, trying to get her to snap out of it.

"Hmm………..what do you want Haku-nii-san?" asked his sister.

'**Geez, I swear I wonder how we're related…'** "Kay, we have a 20 minute break before Koji's battle begins, so come on!" he said as he grabbed his sister's hand and dragged her up the stairs.

* * *

While in the previous room the finalists were in before:

"Wait, how's Keiko doing, is she going to be fine?" asked the Uchiha heiress.

"The medics said she just suffered from a few broken bones, and blood loss, but they said she'll make a full recovery in a few days." Answered Koji.

"That's good!" loudly said Katara. All the remaining finalists were in the room and suddenly the door opened and popped in some familiar faces.

"Congratulations, both of you!" said the Uchiha twins' grandfather, Uchiha Taji.

"Yes, we're all so proud of you!" said their mother as their father gave them a proud smile.

All three of them gave each twin a hug and they also wished them good luck.

"Oh and Koji, good luck to you as well!" said Taji.

"Arigatou, Uchiha-sama!" Koji said as he bowed down low to show his appreciation.

"Alright, now will the finalists come back up!" said Hayate.

* * *

"Sasaki Haru and Takahashi Koji, please come down to the arena."

Both finalists came down to the battlefield as fast as possible; in mere seconds, they both were standing at opposite ends of each other. The proctor gave the signal to begin and both finalists jumped into gear; Sasaki Haru, a ninja from the sand village, was known throughout his village as a genius with any type of sword. Sasaki Haru has short light brown hair and tan skin; wears long-sleeved shirt (dark green) and has dark forest green eyes along with wearing brown pants and black ninja sandals. He had grown up around weapons since his father was a blacksmith, and at an early age, Haru was fascinated at how graceful a sword can be in battle and through the training from his dad, he managed to master the sword. Now at the age of 16, he stood before Takahashi Koji, age 9, of the leaf, known to be the genius of the Takahashi clan, so this battle was a genius of the sand versus a genius if the leaf, winner take all.

As the battle began, the silence from the crowd overcame any movement and the wind blew with such force for the upcoming battle at hand. The sun was now at the midpoint of the day and its heat was radiating onto the competitors' foreheads; as time passed, the crowd was becoming impatient as one man cried out "Start fighting already!" At the moment both sand and leaf ninja were observing each other carefully and as Koji saw Haru's small movement of taking out a katana from his back, the Takahashi got ready with a kunai knife that was twirling in his hand. Both green and blue orbs met in contact and both ninja saw that the battle was about to begin. With katana and kunai in hand, both shinobi charged at each other with their weapons held out; as metal and metal clashed, the loud clink of repetitive attacks were heard throughout the stadium. Both ninja were at a standstill after each of their attacks were countered by the other; both their weapons were holding the other one in place as they stood before each other, pushing each other's strength; one would gain more strength and push back while the other would also pull through with the same strength, so they both stood with equal power for awhile.

After a few moments, both shinobi pushed apart from each other and stood across from another, with sweat falling down their foreheads. Both were panting from their efforts of trying to find an opening for an attack and they were catching their breath as they got ready for another go at it. Once going at it again both jumped at the other and began to unleash more chakra to their feet, allowing them to go further and further up in the air as they both pushed up from the sides of the walls and met up with their weapons in midair. Clink after clink was heard and one of them managed to find a way to inflict damage onto the other; Haru, the sand ninja, saw Koji's misstep in footing from his leap from the wall and managed to cut a deep wound on the leaf nin's right side. After getting cut in so deeply, Koji stopped and landed onto the floor, clutching onto his side as the blood oozed out from his injury. With little knowledge he knew about medical ninjutsu, he quickly took out some bandages and tightly wound them around it. Sasaki Haru was watching his opponent carefully as he took care of his wound and he wasn't going to give Koji a break; while the Takahashi was busy stopping the bleeding, the sand ninja began to make some seals. As Koji finished up with his work, Haru finished with making his seals.

**KOJI'S POV:**

As I finished up with what little knowledge in the medical field that I knew of, I began to feel a huge amount of accumulated chakra from the other side of the stadium. I knew I should've anticipated something like this would happen, and as I turned my head, I realized that my opponent finished with his seal. I heard an attack known as **Wind Style: Tornado of a Thousand Years, **come from the sand nin's mouth and I began to embrace myself for his jutsu. I began to hear wind come together and it seemed to form a huge tornado that was going after me. Turning on my Amaragusan, my eyes began to adjust to the chakra wind being controlled by Haru. I began to analyze his chakra network and saw how it was flowing in different directions and by comparison, I saw how those changing directions were influencing the tornado's direction. As I finished with my observation, I saw that the tornado was directly 3 feet away from me as I felt it begin to suck me in.

I felt the power of his attack as it took me in and began to rotate me around and around at such a speed that I was sure I had to find a way out from his attack. Never taking my eyes off from my opponent, I took out some chakra absorbing wire along with a kunai and transported some of my chakra into the wire and attached it to my weapon. Once completed, I took the kunai and concentrated chakra into my arm to throw into the wall of the arena. I managed to hook it onto a crack in the wall and with as much force as I could force out, I used all my strength to pull myself out of the tornado, but the power of these winds were so strong that my impact did not become as nice as I had intended it to be. I felt my body come in contact with the ground as I lost my grip on the wire and as I collided, I noticed the tornado was coming to an end and also for the fact that my right arm was broken due to the fall. **'So he can't completely control his jutsu.'** I thought.

The pain from my injury was unbearable and I knew that I needed to finish this off quickly; after all, a ninja is more limited when they can only use one arm while their other is immobilized.

Once Haru's tornado was gone, he started on another jutsu; from where I was laying on the ground, it looked like another wind attack was coming my way. At that moment, I saw sharp waves of wind coming my way (Wind Element: Muse of Air Currents); they were coming from his weapon and its speed was too quick for me to handle that once all of the several waves hit me, I had to register what had happened as I was push straight back to the opposing wall. With my right arm heading for it first and for once, for all the medical knowledge I had, I knew that my right arm was definitely severely broken.

**Normal POV: **

"That did not sound too well." Stated Haku as he just saw Koji's body heavily slam into the ground.

"He's only going to be able to take a little bit more of this, but I'm sure he'll make it through." Replied Katara. "Hopefully, that broken arm won't cause a problem."

* * *

Back in the battlefield, Koji was still trying to come up with a fast way to end this fight; **'Based on what I've seen, he could only use wind attacks, but…..what else could there be, that I've overlooked?.......Wait! His sword! All of his attacks came from his weapon, so I'm going to have to find a way to get rid of that thing!' **

Once formulating his plan, he slowly, but steadily got up onto his feet. The sand ninja was cautiously watching his competitor, while holding his sword tightly in front of him; he saw how Koji was slowly creeping towards him and the sand ninja began a steady running pace towards the leaf shinobi. As he was about to encounter said shinobi, Koji managed to push a good amount of chakra into his feet to increase his speed and he was able to run at a faster pace as he jumped onto the walls and started running around the whole stadium. He also managed to form some seals for some shadow clones, even though he was only using one hand. Each of his clones began to circle around Haru and continued at the running pace; while his clones were distracting Haru, Koji took out some more wire and began to unwind it with his teeth and left hand. While spinning out the wire, his clones were able to send him what they saw from their bloodline was that based on Haru's chakra network, they saw what he would do next; turns out he was starting to gather more chakra and create more seals for a powerful wind technique. Seeing as Koji had little time left, he frantically began unwinding more wire as if his life depended on it and began to attach shuriken and kunai to his wires, and began to throw them as quickly as possible towards Haru's sword. Koji's clones were gone at this point and he was currently watching his handiwork; it turned out his plan worked; the sand ninja's sword was tangled in with the wires, which were currently holding the weapon across the battlefield.

Sasaki Haru's face was in total shock; **'so, that whole clones technique was just a rouse to get me distracted for the real thing……..' **then a crackling beneath him was heard as his eyes widened and saw what was coming at him. **'What the..?! …I-imposible!' **Haru thought as he the real Koji was underground and quickly delivered a chakra enhanced uppercut at his opponent. **'…I got to thank Katara for teaching me that move.' **Thought the leaf ninja.

With as much force as that, Haru was forcefully hit into the air with Koji following in suit; Koji then landed more punches onto his opponent until he made a stronger hit and forced Haru into the opposing ground. The crash rumbled the whole place and as the dust from the ground cleared up, the only one left standing was Koji; while Haru was knocked unconscious due to his crash and lack of chakra left in his body. With that being seen, Hayate claimed that Takahashi Koji would move onto the next round.

* * *

'**Hn……I see; by using his clones as a distraction, he managed to switch himself and a clone when Haru was too busy with his clones. By going into that hole that Keiko had created in the previous battle, he was able to get an entrance underground to wait for his opponent to be phased by the fact that his sword was gone from his possession. He knew his opponent would think that his clones were the real distraction, but it was really the fact that since he was too astonished that his sword was gone from his grasp, was what the real distraction was…Well, played Koji.' Thought Uchiha Haku. **

"Alright! That's how you show them Koji!" his hyper-active teammate said as she pumped her fist up in the air for his victory.

"Kay, I get it how you're so enthusiastic, but the hokage is about to speak." Said Uchiha Haku.

"Oh, hehe……my bad." Replied Katara as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

* * *

"Alright, seeing as we only have four competitors left, we will now see who will be fighting who in the next round. This round will be the semifinals, so the two people who win their match today, will move onto the finals, which will be held on for the next day. After all, our shinobi do need to rest up after a long day."

"And without further ado, let's find out who will be fighting against whom."

On the upcoming screen it showed the following match-ups:

**Uchiha Katara (Leaf) vs. Ishikawa Ronin (Sound)**

**Takahashi Koji (Leaf) vs. Uchiha Haku (Leaf)**

"We will begin shortly in half an hour to give them a break, so don't become impatient." Said the Hokage as he returned back to his seat.

* * *

Back at the finalists room, the final four were resting up for the upcoming round of the semifinals. Koji at the moment was currently getting checked up due to his arm injury while the Uchiha heiress was nervously awaiting for this battle because she would be up first facing against the sound nin.

_Flashback:_

"_I promise you, when I get my chance to fight you, I'll win!"_

"_Hn…don't make me laugh; but I appreciate the guts and we'll see who wins when I fight against you." The sound nin said._

End of flashback.

'**Hn……I wonder if I can keep my promise to Keiko; no I have to because I will never go back on my word no matter what…..even if I do fail at this, I'll know that I didn't try hard enough.' **

* * *

After having a half hour break, the finalists went back to their usual waiting area while the other two that were going to fight were already down there, ready to partake in their fight. The glaring death stare that Katara got from Ronin's onyx eyes were scary enough to other people, but the heiress felt ready for this battle. She was nervous at first, but all she had to do was to focus on this battle and think of it as if it were a dance; to make each motion become fluid after the other.

After much careful thinking, Katara heard the proctor exclaim, "Begin!" and that's when all hell broke loose; the sound ninja began to charge forcefully at the Uchiha and before she could react to it, and he took the wind right out of her as his body rammed into hers, causing her to collide into the opposing wall. The look in his eyes was even more bloodthirsty and the people in the audience could tell that he was in here for a kill. They knew he wasn't messing around and some even felt as though that he might be able to win this.

Out from all the rubble around her, came the little Uchiha as she was regaining her breath from his attack. She was not expecting something like that and she knew she was foolish enough to not anticipate it. **'So I can expect he's one of those people who are unpredictable……..well this doesn't work out so well; most shinobi have a pattern to their attacks, in which you can figure it out…..too bad I don't have Koji's Amaragusan to help me here. I guess I'll have to find another way out.'**

As she managed to get her breath back, she had a calm composure as if she never even received this attack. "Hn………you've got some guts kiddo, but you haven't seen anything yet." Said her opponent as he began to form more complicated seals that didn't even compare to the attacks he had tried out on Keiko. At any rate, Katara quickly activated her Sharingan and began to see what seals he was making. Not only were they complicated, but they seemed foreign, but she was able to recognize one that stood for wind, meaning that a wind elemental technique was going to come her way. To prepare herself, she got into a defensive stance where she was calmly standing in the arena with her hands palms together with her eyes closed; to get ready for this, she was summoning up a lot of chakra just in case a fatal blow comes by to hit her directly.

"Wind Element: Taiyou's (sun's) Fury!" bellowed Ronin as he unleashed his attack onto his opponent. Soon enough, waves of fire combined with his wind control caused a blur of flames to come towards the Uchiha as she opened her eyes and saw the flames. Being careful, she managed to dodge each one gracefully, with flips, leaps, and cartwheels, as if each move were a fluid motion. But she miscalculated one flame which seemed to be the biggest one, so she stood her ground. With both palms held out in front of her, Katara summoned some chakra that pushed through her tenketsu points and she was able to manipulate the chakra into thin slices of wind, which completely canceled her opponent's flame.

The crowd was amazed at how the Uchiha was able to stop an attack like that with such control over nature manipulation; even the hokage was impressed at how she was able to learn something like that in just one month.

It seemed that the sound ninja was enraged by the fact that his attack was canceled out by a little girl. Katara could feel his fury radiate off him and she was waiting for his next move. Seeing as he was just too furious to make one, she decided to take it under her obligation to make her move. The Uchiha heiress began running on the sides of the arena and she inconspicuously took out wire and attached them to her weapons. This wire was specialized because it had special properties that allowed it to be invisible to the human eye. As she got about five shuriken and five kunai connected to her wire, she began to throw them at her opponent; Ronin was able to dodge each weapon she threw at him as the weapons were stuck to different points of the stadium.

"Hn. Is that the best you got? I was expecting a lot more from an Uchiha. I guess I should learn not to have high hopes for anyone." Said Ronin, but with a smirk he said, "But you know what, I'm going to make this slow and painful."

The sound ninja was about to keep his promise as he got ready for another round of seal making. While he was making his seals, Katara was charging into his range and quickly concentrated enough chakra into her fist and slammed her fist down into the ground near him. This caused him to lose some balance and with that chance, Katara used her fast agility to come near her opponent to deliver a strong kick upwards, causing him to come up in midair. Immediately after that was done, she leaped up into the air and began to punch and kick him with all she had. With her fast speed, she went from right and left, hitting him multiple times while he hopelessly tried to dodge. After one final punch, she went back down on the ground and added more chakra to her feet to allow her to reach a higher altitude. She was about 10 feet above her opponent, and the Uchiha heiress began to go down head first while at the same time spinning her body like a top **(Grand Kamikaze Whirlwind)**to gain more speed. She even added chakra to this attack and the audience could see her chakra consume her spinning top form and as she made contact with Ronin; it was as if a drill was piercing through him. In less than 10 seconds, Ronin reached the ground with an earth-breaking sound and most members if the crowd had to turn away from the blast from the crash. The crash created the largest crater out of all the battles fought here today and it was definitely a sight to see when the dust cleared and people saw what had become of Ronin. He was extremely in bad shape; his face was half covered in blood and he definitely was scratched up and bruised from the kunoichi's taijutsu attack. The worst of his injuries was his stomach where you could see that it received the most damage from her top-like attack. His stomach was bleeding profoundingly and for some reason the sound ninja was chuckling.

"Haha…….you know, you could've really killed me with that attack, but thanks to this curse mark, I managed to summon enough chakra to come to the point where I knew you would likely strike. Therefore, I didn't get as damaged as you would've liked, but I got to hand it to you, no one has ever inflicted this much damage on me." The sound nin's curse mark was showing itself once more as he was going through with his transformation. His wounds were healing itself up; especially the one on his stomach and it appeared that Katara's attack never even got him. He looked unharmed and very demonic: Black marks engulfed his body and his skin turned into a grayish tint, while his red hair turned into a crimson color and his eyes became black and out from his head came a huge horn, while his fingernails got longer and sharper.

Katara knew he had completed his metamorphosis and she felt his chakra levels increase to its maximum. As she saw that he was charging towards her with a claw-like fist coming after her, she quickly jumped onto the sides of the stadium and used her chakra to stay in her position. When ready, she summoned up as much chakra, and activated her wires. The audience saw the affect of the Uchiha's wires and Ronin managed to feel the affect of them. They were actually chakra draining wires and they were currently getting rid of Ronin's excess and remaining chakra he got from his curse mark. Slowly, Katara felt his chakra levels dropping steadily, until she saw with her Sharingan that he was no longer able to move, since his chakra network was empty. Ishikawa Ronin was standing still, in the middle of the arena and was widening his eyes as he saw his opponent leap above him with a chakra enhanced fist; as it connected with his face, his body was forced down into the ground, as another huge crater erupted from the Uchiha's attack. As the dust cleared from Katara's attack, she turned her back towards her opponent, turned her head towards him, still with her Sharingan glaring at him, and said, "And that was for Keiko."

With that final punch, the fight was considered over, and the proctor proclaimed Uchiha Katara as a finalist in the final round. A huge applause was heard as she walked out of the arena with a confident smile.

* * *

As the Uchiha made her way up to where her brother and teammate were standing, she was thinking about how their battle was going to be like. She hoped none of them would seriously get hurt, while at the same time, she didn't know who to root for. As she made it to her destination, she saw that they both were already down and ready to fight. Katara saw that her twin brother was in good shape and only had a few scratches on him, but on the other hand, Koji had his right arm in a sling and seemed he was having a hard time standing in a steady manner. The heiress was worried about her friend's condition and hoped he wouldn't get furtherly injured, but she knew that he would give it his all before he would figure out his limitations and surrender.

The battle began with the word 'begin' and both leaf shinobi of different clans took action; both of them took out kunai knives and battled it out with a clink and clink after the other. Koji was doing fairly well, even though he was using his fairly weaker arm to hold the kunai. When they reached a standstill, Koji himself, along with Haku, noticed that Koji could only withstand a certain amount of force from his body until his right arm would feel the pain. He knew his arm would be a problem at the moment when he went to the infirmary to get it checked.

_Flashback:_

_Takahashi, Koji was currently getting his former injuries he just suffered through during his match against the sand ninja. The medics checked his deep cut on his side, but told him that it wouldn't scar and they managed to heal it for the most part. But the most troublesome injury would have to be his arm; as they were looking it over, they saw that there were multiple fractures of bones along his entire arm and they could only do so much at what little time they had before he had to come back up and fight again. _

_Koji already knew what they were going to say, but he hoped he was wrong. As he looked at them in the eyes, one medic came forward and gave him his prognosis: "Takahashi, Koji, your previous battle left you scratched up and bruised, but the most severe injury would be your arm. We managed to heal it a bit, but your entire arm's bones are fractured in many places and concerning with your upcoming battle, you have to take precautions. And I warn you, if you push yourself too hard, the results will be dangerous, so be careful."_

_End of flashback. _

Koji and Haku were still in the kunai stage of their battle and everyone could tell that the Takahashi was pushing himself too hard. They once again reached a standstill, and it seemed that the same thing would happen each time this occurred; that after a few seconds, Koji would be unable to hold onto it and he would have to pull back, and then both of them would continue to attack each other. But this time, the pain became unbearable for him, and Koji let his kunai slip, surprising everybody.

Haku was staring at Koji as if he had let go on purpose; the Uchiha was currently confused by the situation and stared in shock as he heard the upcoming words come from his opponent's mouth: "I give up."

"Wait, what?! Koji, you can't just give up! I mean, you're not that type of person." Replied Haku.

"I know that………but I know my limits and right now, I've reached it; my right arm can't handle anymore pain, and sometimes, you just know that you've pushed yourself too far and that at times, you have to learn to give up….I'm sorry, but I forfeit this match to Uchiha Haku."

"Are you sure?" questioned the proctor.

"Hai." Replied the injured leaf shinobi.

Clearing his throat, Hayate declared, "Very well, due to his opponent's forfeit, Uchiha Haku will move onto the finals."

'**Wait, that means I'll be fighting my own brother in the finals?!' thought Katara. **

While at the same time, Haku was thinking that too: **'I'm going to be fighting Kay in the finals?!'**

**

* * *

**

"Very well then; the final match will be tomorrow, here in this stadium. It will be a winner take all match and I hope you are all eager to see our best students compete tomorrow. Now, they must rest for their upcoming match and I'll see you all tomorrow. Once the match is over, the leading kages of each land and the feudal lords will discuss if any one of these shinobi we've seen are worthy enough to become chuunin. Best of luck to you all." Said the Hokage.

* * *

Both Uchihas were at the estate right now, going over the different events that led up to them having to fight each other. On the way back to their home, they both received congrats for how far they've come from everyone they knew, including Sasuke and his family. The Uchiha clan could not have been any more proud and their parents were definitely glad both of them had made it in the finals.

* * *

**Alrighty, make sure to review! And hopefully, I'll update soon!**


	11. Chapter 8: The Grand Uchiha Royale!

**Hopefully this chapter is up to your standards. It took awhile to think everything through, but I can say that I'm happy at how the story is coming along. **

**Reviews are still being greatly appreciated! Thanks, and now on with the story. **

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* * *

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Chapter 8: The Grand Uchiha Royale!

It was morning in the Uchiha home with the Uchiha servants going around getting everything cleaned up; onyx eyes opened at the sight of sunlight and the little heiress got out of bed after a long, uncomfortable sleep. Katara was wiping the sleep from her eyes as she looked at herself in the mirror, seeing her bed head along with her pajamas. She swiftly entered into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair. After leaving the bathroom with new clothes, which she received yesterday from her parents, she was getting ready for the battle that was going to happen later today. She was wearing a new black ninja skirt with matching undershorts with a crimson tank top with a white undershirt. She also had on black ninja sandals with new and sharpened weapons along with sporting a pony-tail with her bangs shaping her heart-shaped face; she was sitting in front of her mirror, putting her leaf headband on her forehead, when a knock was suddenly heard from her door. Without looking away from the mirror, she said a quick 'come in' and in entered her twin brother.

"Hey Kay, ready for today?" asked the bright Uchiha.

"Just one more thing…..I've having some trouble putting my headband on." Replied the Uchiha and right when she said that, her headband fell from her forehead to cover her eyes. Her brother chuckled at her and stood behind her to give her a hand.

"Here, I'll do it. Sometimes, Kay, I don't know how we're related." Chuckled Haku as he perfectly tied her headband in just one shot at it.

"Hey! That's not nice!" Katara jokingly said to her brother as she hit him softly on the arm.

"Alright, Alright," while putting his hands up innocently. "Gomen, so are you ready for today?" asked the Uchiha again.

The room got quiet as the Uchiha heiress became silent and put on a sad look on her face. She looked away from her brother as she gave him her answer, "It just seems weird……..I mean, we've never actually fought each other in this type of situation. I don't know if I can do it."

"Kay, promise me something………when we're both out there, don't go easy on me cause I surely won't go easy on you…give it your all and I'll do the same!" confidently said Uchiha Haku and with that, his sister gave him and smile and a hug.

"Alright then, let's go!" Katara said as she dragged her brother out the door.

* * *

Once more, both finalists were at the stadium near the end of town; the arena was still a bit damaged from yesterday's previous on goings, but most of it was replenished. At the moment, the Hokage was making a speech about what was going to happen and how this battle was once in a lifetime. Each Uchiha was in a different room, getting ready for their entrance and for one little heiress, the suspense was killing her. She was listening quietly to the Hokage's speech:

"Never have I ever imagined that two great shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village would be the ones fighting in the finals, and nevertheless, siblings from the Uchiha clan. They both make our village and their clan proud with how far they've come. Hopefully, you will all see how they've worked hard to and from this point. Now without further ado, I proclaim that the finale of the final exam will commence."

At that moment, the doors to their rooms opened and each Uchiha stepped forward, right into the arena, hearing loud applauses from all angles. Katara was looking all around the stadium and saw the whole Uchiha clan take up a quarter of the seating; scanning the whole Uchiha clan, she saw Sasuke clapping and smiling down at her. She suddenly felt a new feeling surge within her that gave her the confidence she needed; she actually felt anxious and no longer nervous; she was going to do this no matter what.

* * *

"Alright, the same rules as before; I have the right to stop the battle if needed. Both of you give it your all and you both may, BEGIN!" exclaimed the proctor, while Haku and Katara were standing across each other and looking at each other.

Silence overtook the arena as both Uchihas began to glare at each other. Obviously each twin was different from each other; they each had different strengths and weaknesses. Uchiha Haku was quicker at making seals, had better precision, better with weapons, and had decent chakra control and has fast speed, but his sister was his counterpart. Katara was swifter on her feet, had very good chakra control, and was decent at weapons, but both Uchihas' Sharingan were close to being of equal power.

Almost simultaneously, each Uchiha took out a kunai knife and went head on at each other; the sounds from each slash from their weapons were heard over and over again. Then their kunai battle took to the skies as they kept leaping up higher and higher each time, meeting up with the other in the middle of the stadium, in midair. Once they fought with their kunai knives at the highest point of the stadium, they both saw that the other was ready to take the battle to another level.

Uchiha Haku was the first one to make a move; he quickly threw shuriken attached to wires with paper bombs all around the stadium. Right then, Katara knew that she had to be careful or else she would end up setting off one of the explosives. She turned on her Sharingan and began looking for a way out of this trap, without setting off anything. On the opposite side of where she was standing, she saw the exit, but in order to get there, there were difficult obstacles on the way there; each wire was set up in a different way, which would make it hard for a person to get through. Even though the circumstances were looking pretty horrible, she decided to take a chance and went to the direction of the exit. Carefully making sure she didn't misstep, she managed to get halfway there. **'Alright, I got past the most difficult parts of the maze, now here's the easier part….' **With that thought, Katara was getting ready to avoid a double-looped wire and once she passed it, she heard a huge boom coming from behind her; she turned her head and saw that the explosions were being set off. Looking behind her, there was a hidden wire beneath the wire she just had avoided; **'That's not possible; I double checked that one……there's no way I could've missed that wire, unless………OF COURSE! How could I be so stupid! I should've known this was an illusion the first time we looked at each other when the proctor told us to start!'**

Once realizing that her brother put her in a genjutsu, she focused on breaking the illusion and managed to destroy it and come back to the real world.

* * *

Haku's illusion managed to keep his sister busy for longer than he had imagined. He knew that once she comes to a dead end, Katara would try to over analyze a situation, which was probably why she was stuck in his genjutsu for awhile. Just as he was about to land a hit on her, she managed to use her incredible speed and defend against his punch with two hands in front of her face. She was very lucky to have come out of his illusion before it was too late; at the moment, Katara was pushed back a bit from Haku's punch, but there was no damage from his hit.

Getting up from the ground, Katara stood up to face her brother; Haku was waiting for his sister to get up with his palms facing towards her, at the ready. Once up, the Uchiha heiress knew that they were going to move towards taijutsu, hand to hand combat. Katara got her palms ready to fight against Haku and then, they jumped into action.

Punch after punch was delivered from each Uchiha; Haku tried to land a corkscrew kick at his sister when her back was behind a wall; but fortunately for her, she managed to avoid it by doing a 360 flip off the wall, landing behind her brother. He turned around just in time to see a roundhouse kick connect with his side. The kick caused his body to be pushed to the right, and taking advantage of her brother's state, she did an uppercut with her left fist, sending him high up into the air. Once joining her brother in midair, she realized that he used a substitution jutsu, since at the moment, his body turned into a wooden log.

The Uchiha heiress decided to seek out where her brother was hiding, so she had both her feet planted on the ground, put her palms together and deeply concentrated. After a minute of concentrating, she spotted his distinct chakra signature hiding behind a bush, healing his wound from her kick.

'**She's spotted me that quickly?......' thought Haku. **

Three shuriken came out from the bushes, coming directly at Katara; her Sharingan eyes widened at the speed and precision these weapons were going to hit her, so instead of trying to run from them, she decided to stand her ground. As they were about to make contact with her skin, she did the splits and managed to duck in time, causing the shuriken to become entangled in the wall behind her and she then did a one-handed cartwheel to get on her feet again. Out from the bushes came Haku as he used his speed of weapons to throw a dozen more shuriken at his opponent. Katara quickly took out two kunai knives, in each hand, to cancel out each shuriken that was being thrown at her. With her Sharingan eyes, she was able to keep up with this pace and managed to stop each shuriken headed after her. The ninja stars landed near her feet and she waited for her brother's next move as she watched him carefully with her Sharingan.

His Sharingan was also staring back at her with the same intensity; in one swift move, her brother came charging at her with a kunai in hand; once reaching within her range, he quickly rammed his weapon into her right side, managing to seemingly knock the wind out of her. Another poof was heard as Haku realized that his sister ended up using a substitution in the last minute before the attack even hit her. Looking quickly around him, Haku began scanning the area for where his sister could be; he looked from every angle and just when he was searching the ground below him, he felt her presence close to him. Right when he turned is head, he saw Katara up in the air, coming down at a fast pace with an axe kick coming down at her brother. As the kick was about to make contact with its target, Haku managed to roll out of the way, nearly avoiding the full damage of the assault. Since Katara's attack nearly missed her brother, it caused another huge crater in the stadium, along with a loud collision when the kick contacted with the ground.

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The crowd was astonished with how each moment of this battle was turning out with more intensity and seriousness. At the moment, both Uchihas were standing a few feet from each other as the audience watched closely as to what would happen next.

'**Hn…..this battle is turning out more violent than I've expected. I can see the passion in both of their eyes; it all comes down to how much more one wants this more than the other.' Thought the Hokage. **

* * *

The Uchihas began to charge once again after the other, both with chakra enhanced fists; once reaching their targets, both came forward and hit the other with a fist on the cheek, pushing the other back a few feet. Once they both recovered from the attack, both Uchihas were now going to change the pace of the battle and they were going to heat it up. Standing a few feet from the other, they both began making the correct seals for a huge ninjutsu; at the same time, both Uchihas yelled out, "**Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!**" Blazing fire came out of the mouths of both Uchiha twins as the heat in the arena increased; the fireballs took up most of the space and the heat intensified the longer they kept their jutsus going. Each time, one twin would gain the advantage, but then it would switch back and forth as they each gave their all to push the other's fireball back. Finally, this battle between fireballs was canceled out causing steam to come up from the contact of both hot substances. The audience, along with the two finalists, had to shield themselves from the extreme heat coming from the steam.

Once the steam was gone from the scene, the Uchihas suffered some minor burns from the extreme heat; more injuries were just added onto their bodies, but they both weren't done yet. With his fast ability to make seals, Haku pulled out one of his newly found tricks; his jutsu was another technique from the Uchiha clan, and as he finished with the last seal, the Uchiha proclaimed, "**Takibi (bonfire) Renegade!**" Suddenly, his eyes turned a deeper shade of red, and flames of fire were held in both his hands. Katara watched carefully with her Sharingan to anticipate her brother's next move. To her it seemed that he was able to control the flames without getting burned; her thought process was interrupted when she had an ominous feeling that a fireball was headed her way. Looking up, her prediction became true as several balls of fire came directly at her from all sides. Seeing that she was about to become surrounded, she leaped up, which unfortunately was a bad move for her. Uchiha Haku began another round of fire throwing, and this time, she had to think quickly on her feet to avoid them. Being in midair gave her a slight disadvantage, but before the fireballs came in contact, she managed to fasten wire to her kunai, throw it to the wall behind her, and pull herself away from the flames headed after her. Once she managed to get her footing on the wall, her brother began to throw more fireballs, but this time, she landed on the ground and began a nice even pace of running in zigzags; she wasn't able to avoid all of them this time, because three managed to skim her thigh and arms; she noticed his attack caused her to burn and have cuts, and looking more closely, she realized that there were hidden shuriken in them.

At the moment, the injuries that Katara had sustained had accumulated, and she knew she had to move to a safe area to heal most of the major ones, like the burns on her arms and legs. Right when another fireball was about to hit her, she threw out a smoke bomb to cover her, and then she escaped to go behind a tree. Making sure as to not give away her hiding spot, she hid her chakra signature and began to heal herself with what chakra she had left.

Leaving her hiding spot without any intention of getting caught, she swiftly tried moving from spot to spot to find a secure location to think of a plan, but luck didn't seem to be on her side today because her brother discovered where she was and right when she was about to run across to the other side of the stadium, he continued another round of fire throwing, causing destruction wherever the flames landed. Without any intention of trying to dodge the flames, she felt that she needed to stop them once and for all; standing her ground, she focused her chakra into her palms; as each fireball was coming at her, her Sharingan kept up with the pace of the flames, and as they came closer, she demolished each one by wiping her hand out in front of her as if her palm was like a fan. Realizing that Katara could counterattack with wind, Haku stopped his renegade of fireballs, deciding to try another tactic.

Drawing blood from his thumb, the male Uchiha made more seals and slammed his left hand on the ground, calling upon a summoning: "**Summoning Jutsu: Honoo the Blazing Wolf!**" Smoke began to envelop the field and as it started to disperse, a red crimson wolf with silver eyes stepped out, standing right beside her brother. Panting hard with her hands on her knees, she thought, **'This is bad....pant…….this fight is taking a lot out of me, and I'm pretty sure it's taking a lot out of Haku too. I'm not sure how much longer I could take.' **

Haku's wolf, Honoo (Blaze), on command of his master, began to run around the little heiress, and from his fur and fast pace, it caused a huge forest fire to surround her. Starting to feel the affect from the fire's smoke, she started a coughing fit as the smoke started to fill up her lungs. Her eyes began to water as the smoke began to cover her vision; she tried to cover her eyes and mouth with her hands, but with the smoke that already was in her system, she could barely stand up, let alone find a way out. Finally she couldn't take it anymore as she fell to the ground, coughing her heart out; there was just too much smoke to handle and her body was beginning to blackout; her eyes kept closing and opening as her own will was pushing her to stay awake. Shakingly standing up, while coughing, she used what little concentration she had and drew the moisture from the air, gaining some amount of water. As steady as her body would react, she swiftly drew the water to cover her, and blast out in tentacles to disintegrate the fire.

Once the fire dispersed, Honoo was waiting right outside, as if he knew she was going to get rid of the fire and with a swift movement of his fur, fire began to come directly at her in thin slices. She frantically tried to avoid each one, but got burned on her arms and legs, and plus the wind that was powering the fire waves was causing her to be pushed back. Her intuition was telling her that there was a presence right behind her; she realized that she was too focused on his summoning, resulting in losing track of her brother. Right when she turned around, it was too late, as he was in front of her, and by managing to do a combination kick that caused her to fly upward, he finished her off by causing her to collide with the ground with a flying roundhouse kick.

As Katara's body hit the ground, she slowly slipped into unconsciousness and her Sharingan was turned off due to the impact; as she was about to black out, she heard a million voices call her name, and then she let the darkness overcome her.

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'**Where, where am I?' **Katara thought as she saw a huge silver dragon in front of her, watching her with fierce blue eyes. The silver dragon opened its mouth and said aloud:

**You****don't know where you are? Well, for starters, you're actually unconscious right now….**

**What?! **

**Your brother managed to knock you out; and you are about to lose this battle; I say, you just borrow some of my chakra to win this…..** The silver dragon said with an evil smirk.

**No way! And by the way, who are you?**

**Ha-ha……you don't remember? Well, I'm Hikari, the nine-tailed dragon demon and I think you need my help to win. I mean what else are you trying to do in this fight? We could end this right now.**

Standing up with all her strength, Katara screamed out in her subconscious mind, "No……..tightening her fists, I don't need your help; I can do this on my own! Now leave me alone!"

**Fine, but you'll need my help later! Til' then, we'll keep in touch. And you better wake up….**

* * *

In reality, Katara was knocked out for quite awhile; everyone was impatient and just wanted the proctor to proclaim Uchiha Haku as the winner, but her brother was just too stubborn. He kept arguing with the proctor and told him to just wait a bit longer; in truth, he wanted a great fight and he felt that his sister would wake up at any moment now.

"I'm sorry, Haku, but this crowd is getting restless; they won't wait any longer….I need to call this fight off." Replied Hayate, the third proctor.

"Not yet! She's going to wake up, just you wait." Said the Uchiha.

As if his prayers were answered, his sister slowly lifted herself on her feet, looking more determined than ever. Seeing that this fight was not over yet, Katara activated her Sharingan, but it wouldn't turn on. She tried over and over again, but she saw that it just wouldn't activate; her brother saw with his eyes, that she was having trouble with her Sharingan, so he waited for her to calm down. The heiress was panicking as she hopelessly tried to turn on her bloodline limit; she was afraid that she had lost it forever, so trying once more she calmly stood with her feet and palms together, summoning chakra into her closed eyes. Feeling the chakra flow to her eyes, she reopened them, but something was different; these eyes no longer saw what her Sharingan eyes saw; these eyes were seeing right through her brother and right into his chakra network.

The audience was in shock, especially the Uchiha clan, as they saw that one of their own had the Hyuuga eyes. To them, it seemed like Katara's eyes had the same composition of the Hyuuga's Byakugan, except her eyes were not pure white, but their regular color.

'**I-impossible!' thought Lord Uchiha **

Itachi's eyes widened a bit, seeing that one of the clan members had another bloodline limit. **'Unbelievable…..even through her one month training with me, she never showed this much progress. Seems like she is full of surprises.'**

**

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**

'**Umm……….this is just awkward, but I guess I'll have to work with what I got.' Thought the heiress. **

After deciding to work with what she had, she was doing her best to adjust to the Byakugan's view of battle; she remembered watching Keiko fight with the Byakugan, and she figured that maybe it wouldn't be so hard, so she might have a chance at copying those moves. So she jumped into battle once more, with her newly developed bloodline and played the role of a Hyuuga by using the gentle fist or Jyuuken; she started using similar techniques Keiko would use with palm to palm tactics of trying to disrupt the flow of her opponent's chakra network, while also at the same time, ducking and avoiding hits from her brother. It seemed that everyone was astonished at how well she was adapting to the Byakugan, and as she did a full spin to turn around and block a kick, she managed to hit some of his tenketsu points. Haku then took hold of his sister, spun her around, and threw her into the opposite direction into a wall. The crash was monstrous, and the cement that was holding up the wall, also fell onto her was she collided. As she got out of the rubble, her Byakugan eyes were gone, replaced with her Sharingan ones; once and for all, they decided to end this taijutsu battle, so both decided to add power and speed to their attacks, and with chakra infused fists, they both charged at each other. Once coming into close contact, both landed a punch on the other's cheek, and the power of each punch caused them both to completely crash and demolish the walls they collided with.

Both Uchihas came out from the rubble, with multiple injuries, but at the moment, none of them could feel their injuries as their determination to win this battle overcame them. They wanted to win and they felt that this battle was coming to a close. With one more move left in the battle, both Uchihas got ready to perform their most powerful jutsus; they both began to concentrate all the chakra they had left into their strongest attacks. Katara had one palm over the other, getting ready for a wind-water based attack, while Haku, on the opposite side of the arena was going to use a lightning and fire-based attack. Her brother began to gather chakra from his surroundings; all of a sudden, the clouds became a dark grey color as lightning and thunder came about. Haku began to absorb the lightning from the clouds to power up for the attack; on the other hand, Katara began gathering the moisture from the air to gain more water needed for this attack.

As they each finished with their finishing touches on their jutsus, Katara's jutsu was a star-like shape with chakra spiraling around it, with a water center, while Haku's jutsu was black, and looked like it took the shape of a wolf with lightning coming from its fur. Both Uchihas charged at each other with their attacks and once at close range, both their attacks collided and canceled each other out. As their attacks came into contact, both had the same thought: **'This is it………..a fair fight and I'm going to win!' **

The biggest explosion caused both the Uchihas to collide into the walls; causing the destruction of the remaining walls. The bright flash and explosion from both their attacks took all their remaining chakra. As they both got up as steady as possible, they shakingly grabbed onto the rubble to forcefully lift themselves up. Katara was standing on both her feet, but her right arm was suffering from Haku's **Kuroi (black)- (Shadow) Jutsu **the most and it was currently bleeding as she was clutching onto it to stop the bleeding. Haku on the other hand was not in a better state either; his left leg and right arm were suffering from the effects of Katara's **Wind-Water Combination: Shiroi (white) Hoshi (star)**. As they both were walking towards each other for another round, they both couldn't help but fall down on their backs. They both used up too much chakra in that last attack, so as they both shakingly tried to stand up again, but they fell again.

With that final showdown, the proctor declared this battle over; "This battle will no longer continue; both finalists are unable to fight any longer; this battle between Uchiha Haku and Uchiha Katara is a tie." Applause was occurring throughout the whole stadium as both Uchihas were lying on the ground. As they both heard their names being called, they both slipped into darkness with a smile on their faces as medics quickly rushed to their sides.

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**Hope you all enjoyed reading that! :) Next time, we'll see who of the finalists made it to Chuunin, or if any did at all. **

**Make sure to review please! All reviews will be greatly appreciated! **

Thanks,

katara


	12. Chapter 9: The Dilemma

**Here's another chapter, and just wanted to thank everyone who tunes in and reads my story! It really means a lot to me! I'm sorry if this chapter was too short, but it does serve a purpose later on in the story. **

**Now here comes the new chapter! **

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Chapter 9: The Dilemma

Lord Uchiha and his mistress were waiting patiently outside the intensive care unit, for their kids. There was nothing to be worried about because they only were suffering some minor scratches and chakra loss along with some blood loss.

Onyx eyes opened slowly as they heard the constant beeping from a heart monitor; turning her head to the side, she saw her brother in the same state as her; a slight giggle slipped from her lips and at that moment, her brother opened his eyes and joined her in her laughing fit.

Realizing that their kids were awake, they entered into the intensive care unit and saw how they were both laughing; they both brought smiles to their parents' faces and their laughing fit was interrupted when the Hokage entered in.

Clearing his throat, he got their attention, "Sorry for disturbing you both, but the closing ceremony for the exams is about to take place and the new chuunin will be announced; I just want to tell your parents that they both should be proud; that battle you both put out there was quite a show and I think you both better head out to the arena. Your comrades are waiting out there."

As the Hokage finished up with his speech, both Uchiha twins got up from their beds and ran outside, not wanting to miss the ceremony. The Hokage and their parents were laughing at their actions and as they were leaving, the Hokage said to Lord Uchiha, "You should be proud; one day, they'll become the best shinobi ever known."

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Back outside, the Uchihas were glad to be out in the open; they still saw the results from their battle earlier in the day and it seemed like the whole stadium was about to fall to pieces. Rubble was everywhere and the ground was full of huge, deep craters, but everyone was out there, waiting to see if anyone made it to become chuunin. It seemed that the kages and the feudal lords talked it over when they both were unconscious, but at the moment, every one of the finalists' hearts was beating so fast. Not all the finalists were here, the remaining ones that weren't killed or severely injured were here, so the remaining people were, Uchiha Haku, Kyoto Toshiro, Hyuuga Keiko, who just got out of the hospital, Takahashi Koji, Sasaki Haru, and Uchiha Katara. They all were standing proudly in front of the audience, waiting for the verdict. As the Hokage stepped forward, all tension was released and everyone became silent, waiting for the final decision.

"I want to thank all of you for attending this event and I know it has been a long two days, but now all the hard work these finalists have accomplished will be paid off; for the first time in history, we've found that all these candidates here will become great chuunin and great ninja on their path to becoming a true shinobi. And without anymore waiting, I want to congratulate those who made it to chuunin level: Hyuuga Keiko, Kyoto Toshiro, Sasaki Haru, Takahashi Koji, Uchiha Haku, and Uchiha Katara. And as a special prize for both twins, since they did tie in the finals, they get the great honor of being chuunin captains on their first mission as chuunins, which will be coming up soon."

Clapping from all around occurred as the finalists' hard work was put to good use; everyone congratulated each other, and as the closing ceremony finished with the Hokage's speech, they said good-bye to newly made friends and the different foreigners began to leave the village to go back to their homes.

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Back at the Uchiha mansion, they were all happily celebrating the amazing battle they saw between the heir and heiress. As Haku and Katara passed through the busy hallways of their home, they were greeted with a 'congrats' or a 'good job' or something of that sort. Katara felt that they didn't need all of this unnecessary attention and she just wanted this party to be over, but unfortunately, her parents kept introducing her and her brother to other people. Finally, once meeting about everyone in their clan, they both got a break and quickly went outside for some fresh air.

For her sake, Katara was just happy to be outside, to look at the stars and to go over the afternoon's events without being disturbed. The backyard of the Uchiha mansion was beautiful; it contained the most beautiful cherry blossoms trees that were planted near a pond with koi fish. And with a bench being near the water, Katara silently went over to sit there. She was currently wearing a deep blue colored kimono with a silver obi, with hair put up into a high bun; and she was just too focused on the stars and the moon, that she had no idea that someone else was near her. As she turned her head to the side, she realized that her brother had gone back inside because of the cold, but she didn't mind, she embraced the darkness and cold of the night; in fact, there was something about the night she truly loved. But at the same time realizing that her brother was gone, she also felt another presence coming near her; as she looked down from the sky, she saw no one other than Uchiha Itachi come forth, hand in his pockets as he coolly walked up to her.

"Is it alright if I join you?" asked the Uchiha as he took a seat right next to the heiress as she quickly nodded her head in response, almost blushing at how close he was to her.

"You did an amazing job back there; you definitely surprised everyone, including myself; so where did you learn all of those moves?" questioned the prodigy of the Uchiha clan.

"I, I don't really know; I guess you could say it was just something I came up with last minute." The heiress sheepishly replied back.

"You and your brother, have amazing potential, but I wonder…." Itachi said as he began saying his thoughts aloud, "who will become stronger?"

"Wh-what do you mean? Asked Katara.

"Being Uchiha siblings serves two purposes; one being that eventually one will over shadow the other; for instance, I'm an obstacle for Sasuke to overcome and at the moment, I can't tell which one of you is stronger." Answered the Uchiha. "But I just came here to congratulate you……" said Itachi as he leaned in closer and gave her a peck on the cheek. As if it were even possible, she turned ten shades of red, as Itachi quickly slid away and calmly walked back to the mansion as the heiress stood their touching her cheek, pondering over what just happened.

She then entered back into her home and saw that Kakashi was back from his mission from Iwakugakure, but she felt that there was something wrong because now, the silver-haired shinobi had his leaf-headband over one eye. And as she was about to welcome him back, as she came closer she overheard that, "Uchiha Obito was killed." Tears began to form as they slowly dripped down onto their newly carpeted floor; they did not go unnoticed as her parents and the copy-nin were chasing after her as she quickly ran to her room to be alone. She heard their constant voices of telling her to let them in, but she ignored them all as she jumped onto her bed, her arms tightly hugging her knees as she was holding a picture frame of her beloved cousin with her and Haku. Newly made tears gently streamed down from her heart-shaped face as she remembered that day as if it was yesterday. That day they took that picture was the day their cousin took them to the cherry blossom festival, winning them a huge stuffed animal dragon; in the picture, they were all smiling, while Obito was giving her a piggyback ride back to the mansion, because she accidently sprained her ankle, being too careless and falling down on it due to her extreme hyperness that day.

She silently giggled but tears still kept pouring down as she remembered that great day; **'Why did you have to go Obito?......**sniffle**………just please watch over us; I'm so confused, I don't know what to do anymore, I mean I just became a chuunin and I always thought you were strong enough to survive anything, so why are you gone now?' **

_Flashback: _

_As the Uchiha heiress was passing through the halls of the Uchiha mansion, she overheard voices and sneakingly put her ear to the door to listen into their conversation:_

"_Listen, Wairi, some of the clan members are a bit resilient once they saw how Katara was able to activate the Byakugan." Said Uchiha Renzo, the weapon expert. "Some of them even are not willing to accept her as an heiress to the clan. Others are blaming that demon inside of her for it!" _

"_Renzo, they can think whatever they choose to believe, but I know for certain that she is of full Uchiha blood. Certaintly, some of the members have heard about the legend of the Three Legendary Warriors?" asked Lord Uchiha. _

"_Most of them brush it off as just a legend; is it possible that it is true?" questioned the weapons expert. _

"_Katara is showing signs of being the chosen one, that is a fact; they'll just have to accept her for who she is; after all, her great grandfather didn't give up his life for hers to be one of misery and hate!" the clan leader said as he slammed his fist onto his desk. _

"_I understand, but how are we going to change everyone's thoughts on her?" asked Renzo._

"_It's impossible to do that, but all we have to do is to prove them wrong; she is a true Uchiha." Replied Uchiha Wairi._

"_And what of her demon? Some people are coming back to treating her as a monster and this incident just made it worse for someone in her situation." Replied Renzo._

"_They'll just have to accept it; she's a strong soul, she can handle it, and plus she has a caring family to keep her grounded, what else can we do? All we have left is to help her through it." Replied the voice if the Hokage as he entered into the room. _

_End of flashback._

'**So, is that what everyone thinks of me? As a monster? As an outsider, who never belonged anywhere?' **the Uchiha heiress thought as she cried herself asleep.

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**Remember to review! Thanks so much for tuning in! **

**Sincerely, **

**Katara :) **


	13. Chapter 10: Premonition

**I know I haven't been able to update weekly, like I had planned, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. Although school is going to start up soon, I hope I will still have more time to update. Now, this chapter is probably the longest one I've ever written and hopefully it turns out to be great. I think this is actually my favorite chapter, even though...well you'll see at the end what happens; i wouldn't want to ruin it for you guys, but I enjoyed typing it up and thinking things through. **

**Once again, I don't own any of the Naruto characters except my OC's. And with that disclaimer, here is the new chapter! **

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**Chapter 10: Premonition**

**Two Years Later: **

A huge explosion blasted throughout the forest as shinobi jumped from tree to tree, already having achieved their mission. Coming back from the Village Hidden in the Grass, a team of Anbu from the Hidden Leaf Village just managed to swiftly retrieve a scroll and now they were going to head back to their home. As they were jumping from tree to tree, one member turned around to see the enemy closely following behind them. As the one member stopped and turned to face the enemy, she quickly threw a smoke bomb in order for her squad to quickly disappear. After leaving their enemies in the smoke, all six members of the Hidden Leaf Platoon sped up and headed towards the Hidden Leaf Village. As they were moving closer, another explosion was heard behind them as it blasted the whole forest and dirt above the ground.

The six members on the team included Uchiha Itachi as the captain of the platoon; three of the members were new recruits: Takahashi Koji, age 10, Hyuuga Keiko, age 10, and their youngest member, Uchiha Katara, age 7.

As they all safely made it out of the explosion, they came together and began to head towards their village. "Katara…….do you have the scroll?" asked the platoon captain.

"Hai! It's in my bag, and safely hidden away from the enemy." Answered the heiress.

After two years of hard training, Team 7 managed to go beyond everybody's expectations; for the Uchiha on their team, she definitely increased as her talent and hard work proved to be the cause of making her stronger. She was now at the ripe age of 7, and sported a new look; no longer was her hair as short as before, but now, she managed to put it up in a low pony-tail, while wearing her wolf Anbu mask. Her teammates also changed through the process of two years; the Hyuuga was now a renowned prodigy who managed to create more new techniques with her chakra control, while Koji managed to become a great apprentice to the great Morino Ibiki in the field of torture and investigation.

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After a few hours of traveling through nothing but the trees, they finally saw the gates of Konoha, just a few feet away from them. As they entered into the gates, they were greeted by the gatekeepers. As they got orders from their captain to head back home, they all spilt up except for Team 7, who always stuck together like old times. As everyone raced off to go home, Team 7 took their time to enjoy the scenes of their village. They were slowly walking through the market district of their village as Keiko and Koji were talking about the previous mission, while Katara began to zone out and think about how something was off with the mission.

After a while of zoning out, Katara was suddenly hit by something on the shoulder. She quickly turned and realized that her teammate, Keiko was trying to get her attention. By just staring at her, Katara could tell that the Hyuuga was calling her name for some time now and was beginning to get impatient. "Hello?! Earth to Uchiha Katara?!" the Hyuuga screamed as she finally got her teammate's attention.

"Huh? Oh, gomen, Keiko. I was just……umm…..what did you want?" asked the Uchiha.

"She just wanted to know if you wanted to go get something to eat." Calmly stated Koji as he stepped into the situation.

"Oh, sorry guys, I promised I would stop by Sasuke's house, but you guys go on ahead. We'll catch up some other time, ok?" said Katara.

"Alright, Katara. I guess we'll see you later. Remember tomorrow we're all meeting up with Kakashi-sensei for training. Just don't be late, ok?" replied Keiko.

"You know I'm always on time. No worries. Alright, good-bye you guys!" The heiress said as she waved her hand good-bye as she walked away.

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After saying good-bye to her friends, Uchiha Katara headed towards the familiar home of Uchiha Sasuke. After every mission, she always came to visit her best friend and fill him in on everything. She also seemed curious to know what was going on in the academy as well. As she made her way up the steps to his house, she saw her brother and Sasuke outside, on the front porch. She quickly smiled at them and ran up to greet them. They both saw her and welcomed her back from a long mission.

"Hey Katara!" both Uchihas said as they each gave her a hug.

"Hiya, Sasuke-kun, Haku-nii-san!" Katara happily replied back. From the moment she saw them both, she noticed some burn marks on Sasuke's face. She wondered where they came from, but then concluded that it must've come from practicing the Great Fireball Jutsu. But after putting that aside, all three Uchihas decide to sit down as they were waiting to hear how the mission went. After getting comfortable on the porch steps, Katara described the whole mission in full detail. In every moment of her story-telling, she saw both boys widen their eyes in awe and after a few minutes of ending her story, they loudly clapped and congratulated her.

Giggling, Katara replied with "Thanks you guys. It was a pretty amazing mission. So Sasuke, how is the academy so far?" questioned the Uchiha.

"It's going by great. I'm actually first in my class." The Uchiha said with a huge smile.

"That's great!" the Uchiha heiress said as she was happy that she was back home with her brother and her best friend. After talking about the academy for a few minutes, all three felt a familiar presence come up towards the steps. As they turned towards the person, they met up with no one other than Uchiha Itachi. From the look on his face, Katara could tell that he was tired from the mission, and quickly moved out of the way to let him through. Sasuke quickly went towards his brother to give him a hug, but Itachi seemed to avoid it as he quietly made his way inside the home. From this action, Katara was once again brought back to her thoughts beforehand about how something was off with Itachi.

_Flashback: _

_A few days before Katara had to leave for her mission, she was currently looking for her extra set of kunai knives throughout the whole mansion. She currently got her brother to help her look around the whole area, but with no luck, she just decided to give up as her brother decided to let her borrow his extra set. As the Uchiha heiress made her way back to her room, she couldn't help overhear certain news that her father along with Uchiha Mukara were talking about. Getting as close as possible to the door, she silently put her ear near the door and overheard the conversation. _

"_Lord Uchiha, this afternoon, we found Uchiha Shisui's body in the riverbank near the eastern corner of the village. Along with his dead body, we found this note that seems to explain that he committed suicide. I bring this news with you with concern; for some reason, it seems strange that a great ninja, like Shisui would do such a thing. He had such a great future ahead of him. In fact, a few days before this, he was suppose to be recruited as an Uchiha police corp officer;something he's always dreamed of." Uchiha Mukura said. _

'_**Oh no... Shisui's dead?' Katara asked herself in her mind.**_

"_I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this. But for now, we should investigate and find out if anyone else was behind this. Do you have any leads, Mukura? After all, I was thinking that an Uchiha would easily be able to copy his hand-writing and write this note. But that's just my suspicions." Lord Uchiha said with concern. _

"_Well………sir….I.." Mukura said with hesitation. _

"_What is it, Mukura? You can tell me….." said Lord Uchiha. _

"_Most of my men, seem to believe that the person behind it would have to be Uchiha Itachi." Said Mukura. "I mean, we don't necessarily have proof, but he does seem have to have the perfect motive. After all, he was the closest with Shisui and this seems right if Itachi was after something such as the Mangekyou Sharingan. This, along with the fact that he hadn't shown up for the Anbu meeting. It seems suspicious to me." Said Uchiha Mukura as he finished his explanation. _

"_I see; well, for now, I suppose we should keep a close eye on him just in case." Answered the leader of the clan. _

'_**No; this isn't possible. Itachi would never do something like that.' Katara thought**__ as she quickly ran of to her room and pack for her mission the next day. _

_End of flashback. _

'**But then again, there was something off during the time of the mission. He seemed a lot more relentless than he usually is.' Thought the heiress. **

_Flashback: _

_After a few days after arriving in the Hidden Grass Village, the Anbu team decided to stop and formulate a plan for tomorrow's invasion of the scroll vault to retrieve an important scroll that was stolen from the Hidden Leaf. As they signed into a hotel, they all quickly made their way up towards the room. _

_The room was simply made with just light blue sky walls with a bathroom, kitchen and six different beds. As all six members got comfortable on their beds, their captain, Itachi grabbed their attention as he began to explain the plan for tomorrow's events. After memorizing every single detail in the plan, everyone went to bed early to become well-rested for tomorrow. _

_The next day: _

_All six members of the platoon got up early before the sun was up to make sure that no one would spot them heading for the vault. As they quickly headed out from their room, they made their way to the nearest route towards the scroll vault. As they saw their destination nearing, Keiko quickly turned to her left to defend against a kunai attack from a Jounin Grass Nin. As the other five members of the platoon become aware that they weren't alone, they quickly jumped into action. As everything was going according to plan, Itachi and Katara managed to get away from all the action as they made their way inside the building. They quickly tried to find the nearest route to the vault but as soon as they began their momentum again, more grass ninja came to protect the scrolls. As both Uchihas ran directly through the group of ninja, more and more came. With no other choice, but to stand and fight, both Uchihas got into position with their backs facing the other. With both their sharingans on, they quickly jumped into the fight with taijutsu. Kicks and punches were thrown in all directions, but within minutes they defeated almost half of the group. As Katara was tiring down, she saw that Itachi was still continuing to fight with a lot more aggression. Seeing that they needed to get the scrool quickly before anyone would get involved, Katara recognized something different with Itachi's sharingan. All of a sudden, screams could be heard from every Grass Nin that surrounded him as they were caught in Itachi's genjutsu. Katara quickly covered her ears, but heard Itachi tell her to move on while he would handle the rest of the ninja. _

_Katara listened to her captain and rapidly made her way to the vault with the scroll. With a quick set up of a bomb maze onto the vault door, she quickly was able to get inside and grab the correct scroll. Once getting the scroll, she put it in a safe place and saw that a window was near the top of the room. As she heard more and more footsteps head her way, she quickly made her way through the window as the recruits saw her leave. Once jumping from the window and landing on her feet, she made a dash to their meeting point. As she increased her speed, she heard several explosions come from the building and as the smoke began to clear, she saw Itachi come from above the sky and land right next to her. He gave her a glance and she quickly showed him the scroll and soon enough, both were headed towards the Hidden Village in the Grass's border where the other four Anbu members would be waiting for them. _

_End of flashback. _

After coming back from her flashback, she just quickly wiped away the idea that something was off. She just thought that he was probably tired form the mission and just wanted some rest. **'I'm sure he'll be back to normal after a good, long rest.' The heiress thought **as she got up to leave with her brother to go back to the mansion after saying their good-byes.

"So, Kay….what was on your mind back then. I noticed that you were zoning in and out." Stated her brother.

"Oh, don't worry about it, it was really nothing. I guess I was just tired, you know?" answered Katara.

"Alright, if you say so." Said Haku as he was set at ease and put his hands in his pockets as they finally arrived at their home and walked up the steps.

* * *

**Few days later:**

It was morning in the Hidden Leaf Village; the sun was shining throughout the whole town as everyone began to get up and begin their daily routines. As Uchiha Sasuke got up and ready to go to the academy, like he always did, he caught his brother, Itachi, before he got up to leave.

"Itachi-nii-san, can you help me out with my shuriken training today after school?" questioned the younger Uchiha.

"I'm busy, ask father." The older Uchiha stated as he was putting on his ninja sandals, as if ready to leave at any moment.

"But he said that you're better with shurikens and I think that you are too. You always treat me like I'm a nuisance or something." Answered back Sasuke. In one swift movement, Itachi used his fingers to get Sasuke to come closer to him. Sasuke quickly smiled and came closer, but quickly realized that it was a trick; just like usual, he always fell for it as he tried to back away before his brother's finger would poke his forehand, but it was too late. As his finger landed on the younger Uchiha's forehand, Itachi said, "Forgive me, Sasuke, maybe another time."

Sasuke was silently studying his brother, but something seemed a bit off. He noticed a lot more sternness in Itachi's eyes and was worried.

"I have no time to help you out today." Said Itachi.

"You always seem to say that and then hit my forehand and you don't ever help me out, not just today." Sasuke whined.

As Itachi got up to leave he said, "I'm sorry, like I said, some other time, Sasuke." As he saw his brother leave, Sasuke gave a smile and quickly went off to eat breakfast with his mother and father.

After finishing a nice breakfast, his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, was washing the dishes, while his father, Uchiha Fugaku was sipping his tea. It was pretty silent in the room, but the silence was broken by Sasuke when he asked, "Dad, does brother not care about me?"

Fugaku answered his son with, "He's……a bit different. He doesn't like interacting with people."

"Why?" questioned Sasuke

Chuckle….. "I don't know. Even I, his father, can't understand him." Answered his father.

"Here, Sasuke. Your lunch. And if you wanted to practice with your shuriken, I'll help you after you come back." His mother said as she handed him his lunch.

As Sasuke grabbed his lunch, he said to his mother, "It's not practice, it's training……..well, bye!" and then he left out the door on his way to the academy. On his way there, he met up with his aunt and uncle. His aunt was currently sweeping the front of her home and asked him, "Sasuke-kun, are you leaving to school?"

"Hai." Replied the Uchiha.

"I just saw Itachi-kun a while go; my has he grown up. He has become an excellent ninja. He graduated at the age of 7 with top grades and he moved up to Chuunin at 10, right?" his auntie asked as she reminisced how much time has passed by.

"Don't forget, he was able to use his sharingan when he was 8." Sasuke added in.

"Yes, I'm proud that he's part of the Uchiha Clan. Along with those two twins, Katara and Haku. Amazing how much they've grown too. Oh yes, how old are you now, Sasuke?" questioned his aunt. As he heard his aunt repeatedly praise Itachi, along with Katara and Haku, he becomes sad as he thinks of how many accomplishments they've made compared to him. **'I'm the same age as when he graduated, but I………' **

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" questioned his aunt.

"Hey stop talking about those stupid things. Sasuke, both you and Itachi are both of the Uchiha Clan, a noble family in the village of Konoha. Just be confident about yourself, you can become a great ninja like Itachi one day." His uncle said as he interrupted his wife. With just that one thing said, Sasuke's mood was lightened up and as he left to go to school, he found a new determination.

"Do your best! And be sure to study hard at school!" both yelled as Sasuke left for the academy.

* * *

'**Yes, I'm part of the Uchiha Clan like my brother, Kay, and Haku, but I won't lose to Itachi.' Sasuke thought **as he was working hard during the school day.

* * *

After a long day of training with her team, Uchiha Katara was currently on her way home from a nice dinner with her team at Ichiraku Ramen. Even though she didn't show it, she was very tired and exhausted from today's events. Her team basically trained from morning to night without taking any breaks. But aside from her condition, her teammates were worse. They were more exhausted than her, and for once, she thanked Kami that she had so much stamina or else she would've fainted by now. As she made her way through the flowered-filled front yard to the steps, she noticed that her brother was home by now as well. As she made her way in, she greeted everyone and went up to her room and met up with Haku in the hallway.

"Hey Katara!" Haku said as he walked through the hall.

"Hey, Haku-nii-san!" replied Katara as they both headed towards Katara's room to talk about their day. "So what did you do today, Haku?" asked the heiress.

"Well, besides the normal stuff, like Yumi throwing her tantrums, everything was alright. We trained by ourselves today and after that, I stayed back to train more and didn't get back until a few moments before you. What did Team 7 do today?" asked Haku.

"Oh, well, today, we basically trained from morning to night. It was Keiko that actually insisted this and it's a good thing I have high stamina cause I would have fainted right now!" the heiress exclaimed as her brother chuckled.

"Haha, seems like a tiring day. You guys just push yourselves too hard sometimes. And no wonder you're a mess. I was going to ask you what happened to you." Said her brother jokingly.

"Hey!" Katara said as she playfully hit her brother in the chest while also giggling as she saw her appearance in the mirror.

"AHHH!!!!!!!!!" a voice horribly screamed from outside. From the urgency of the scream, something was definitely wrong and out of place. Both Uchiha twins were on alert and decided to look out the window and saw that someone's body had fallen down on the ground, oozing out blood. As they both quickly ran out of the room with kunai knives in hand, they saw several people, like their mother, father, grandfather, and cousin, Rin, come out of the mansion with such speed towards the backyard, where everything was taking place.

"Rin! What's going on?!" Katara yelled as she saw her cousin run past them. There was no answer from her and as more and more Uchihas were flooding out of the house, curiousity got the best of Katara and she decided to come out too.

"Katara! You can't come out there without knowing the situation!" Haku said, but unfortunately, his sister didn't hear him and he had no choice but to follow her and make sure she was safe. As both Uchihas made it to the outside, they saw that the many Uchihas outside the mansion were heavily armed and looked ready to fight against an enemy. As they looked around the whole backyard, they saw that some plants were damaged by fire and that there were already some dead bodies sprewn across the yard.

"Give it up, Itachi! You're surrounded!" yelled the familiar voice of Uchiha Mukura. **'W-w-what?! It can't be him!' Katara thought **as she looked up and saw no one other than Itachi himself. All of a sudden, her world was turned upside down as she just stood there still and watched her once idolled hero stand there. Haku noticed the difference in Katara and saw that she was frozen still. As he watched Itachi carefully, he saw that he just got ready to fight as the other armed Uchihas came at him. Much blood was shed as everyone fought as hard as they could against the Uchiha prodigy, but unfortunately, one person fell after the other. Haku saw that their cousin, Rin was trying her best to fight back; as she came closer to them, she asked, "What are you guys doing here? Get out, now!" their cousin screamed as she was protecting them from the flames.

"B-but, Rin, we can't just leave you guys!" screamed back Haku.

"Haku! This isn't the time to argue! Now get you and Katara out of here! You guys are the remaining heirs to this clan, and it's our job to protect the clan and its secrets. Now just go! We'll be fine!" yelled Rin as she jumped into action to help out the others. **'Alright, be safe then.' Haku thought** as he saw his cousin go sacrifice her life for them.

"Katara…" Haku said as he shook her, trying to get her to her feet so that they could leave. "Kay! There's no time for this, we need to leave now!" Haku screamed at his sister. Without even realizing what was happening, the heir didn't realize that Itachi was coming at both twins. As he turned around and saw that Itachi was coming closer with his katana, Haku had nothing to defend himself against such a hit and just prepared for it as he put his body in front of Katara's. As he was waiting for the hit, he felt someone else's blood fall on him. As he opened his eyes, his eyes widened in horror as he saw that Rin had thrown her body in front of the blade to protect them. As the blade was removed from her body, she slowly slumped down to the ground as she was holding onto her chest. Katara loudly screamed at the bloodshed that was happening and was crying at how hurt their cousin was. As Rin was heavily panting, both twins took hold of her and leaned her onto a tree. Katara quickly checked her injuries and knew that the blow to the chest was the most fatal. A major artery was hit and she was just lucky enough that it didn't hit her heart. Katara quickly got her composure together as more and more tears came from her eyes, she was trying her best to heal the injury, but for some reason, the bleeding wouldn't stop. Rin's eyes fazed in and out and as she felt all the blood leave her body she gave a nice smile towards both her cousins, and died, gladly knowing that they were both safe.

"Kay….." Haku said as tears formed in his eyes too. "S-s-she's dead. Just stop it! Ok?! Stop it!" her brother exclaimed as he took his sister's hands away and stopped her from wasting chakra on their cousin, which they couldn't bring back.

"No she's not! I can still save her, Haku! Get out of the way!" the heiress screamed as she tried so hard again to revive their cousin.

"Katara, just stop…..ok? Just stop. I know it looks bad, but there's nothing more we can do." Haku said to his sister in a more calm and sincere voice as more tears streamed down his face as he comforted his sister as her tears were falling down to the ground too.

* * *

At the moment, Uchiha Itachi seemed to be a more powerful opponent than they thought. It turned out that he was behind Shisui's death as he suddenly achieved the Mangekyou Sharingan. Uchiha Paku was currently fighting against Itachi. Both had katanas in hand as they both tried to overpower the other. Seeing that Uchiha Paku was much older, he seemed more experienced with the blade. Seeing that he had to kill him right away, Uchiha Itachi headed directly for his grandkids without their realization. Itachi knew that he would get in front of them to protect them, so just as he predicted Uchiha Paku used his own body to protect both Haku and Katara. Paku was stabbed deeply in the gut and as soon as he was hit, he was kicked out of the way by Itachi, as he got back to fight against the rest of the Uchiha clan. Right after their grandfather fell to the ground, Katara quickly rushed to him to provide medical help with Haku closely following. She tried to contain her tears, but they spilled out endlessly, and as she was trying to heal the deep wound, her grandfather grabbed her hand and stopped her. She stared at him in shock as more tears came down on her. "I can save you, ojiisan; just let me help." Said his granddaughter as she held his hand as more tears came out and as her eyes became more red and puffy.

"It's fine………I'm old anyways. I'd rather die in battle than in my sleep. And Haku, take care of your sister. She always gets in trouble; keep her safe." Said their grandfather as he patted his granddaughter's hair.

"I will. I promise." Haku replied as he too also held his grandfather's hand.

"One last thing, I want both of you to remember, believe in yourself…….and there will be nothing you can't accomplish." Their grandfather said as he closed his eyes and left the world. More tears poured out as she realized that he was gone. Uchiha Katara couldn't believe that in such a short period of time, so many things could change, she was so overwhelmed and hoped that no one else would die for her sake.

* * *

Her mother and father were both battling him with the same intensity her grandfather gave; but to no avail, Itachi managed to defeat them with his newly acquired Mangekyou Sharingan; before they died, she heard their screams as they were tortured by his illusions; he quickly stabbed them with his katana and the twins rushed over to give them medical help as other Uchihas rushed to stop his rampage.

As Katara provided medical assistance, she said"It's going to be ok," but she couldn't stop the bleeding as she was trying to heal their father; her father suddenly stopped her and said that this was meant to be………which made her cry even more. Even though the Uchiha heiress knew the outcome, that she couldn't stop her father's bleeding, she yelled out, "No it's not! I know we can save both you and mom…….please, please, don't leave us….!"

As their mother laid on the floor, in such as weakened state, she silently whispered to Haku and Katara that, "I never had a doubt in both of you; I'm sure you both will make us proud…no matter what, work hard and we will always love you." She gave them each a final kiss and touched Haku's forehead; Holding onto her father's hand while at the same time holding onto her green necklace from her 5th birthday, which she never took off, she was begging both her parents not to leave her as her brother stood in the background crying as well; she felt it(her dad's hand) turn cold and limp, but before he left her, he touched his finger to her forehead and then his hand fell limp and cold; and the same thing happened to their mother, knowing that they were both dead.

After their little emotional state moment, they turned around to see flames and many dead bodies around them; they also noticed that no one else was left, except them. Katara was scared and shocked at the same time and her brother saw that and tried to calm her down. Saying things like "Don't worry, Kay…everything is going to be alright" as he embraced her and comforted her as he turned her away from looking back at the flames.

After a short while, Itachi was coming towards them; Katara still couldn't move, so Haku decided to take things into his own hands; he quickly rushed at Itachi with his Sharingan on and took out a kunai knife to defend against Itachi's katana. Both Uchihas went back and forth with their weapons; but unfortunately, Itachi found an opening and quickly stabbed Haku on the side, and kicked him out of the way; Itachi then was slowly heading towards Katara, while she was still in a frozen, shocked state. Haku saw that he needed to stop him, so as he was clinging onto his bleeding side, he quickly ran in front of his sister, and tried to defend with one arm since the other was clinging onto his left side. Itachi swiftly punch Haku out of the way by hitting him on his cheek. But once again, Haku didn't know how to quit and came back to attack him from behind; this time Itachi kicked him away and was going to finish him right there and for all. He grabbed Haku by the collar of his shirt and was about to stab him in his chest, when Katara broke out of her trance and saw what was going on.

She began to get up and beg. Haku was held up defenselessly and looked at his sister as she tried to stop Itachi: "Please, Please Itachi, don't do this" (said this while crying at the same time) "You don't have to do this…….you can stop right now…please…just stop". …more tears…. "Wh-what happened to the Itachi I knew? The one that I used to look up to? What happened to that Itachi?! (tightens her fists) To think……..I was silly enough to believe that you weren't the one who killed Shisui; I feel like a fool now; I always thought I wanted to grow up to be as strong as you, but I guess I was wrong….Why are you doing this? Why?! What about everything that the clan meant to you! Are you going to throw away everything you worked for? What will Sasukethink? Don't tell me you're going to kill him too! You always told me you would always protect him; you're his brother aren't you?! Just stop, please, just stop." She said as she fell onto her hands and knees, being blinded by tears.

It seemed like Katara's words didn't phase the murderer; the heiress slowly watched him stab her brother in the chest, and she couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes. She saw her brother's blood be spilled down onto the ground and she saw how he just threw her brother's body away like he was nothing. She quickly ran after him, as if she forgot Itachi was still there; she ran towards him and saw what a bloody mess he was; his body was covered in his own blood; she was crying in his chest and when she felt his hand pat her on the back, she turned back to look at him in his eyes.

"H-haku?"

Coughing up blood. "yeah, it's me." And he smiled.

"I-I'm sorry.." she said as she looked over his injuries and began to try to heal him.

"Stop, Katara" he said with such seriousness. "It's over for me, there's no point in wasting your chakra on me."

"No, it's not over! I can still save you if I try hard enough; and plus I thought you said everything would be fine! What happened to that, huh?!"

"Listen to me" he grabbed her hands, "everything will be fine, trust me."

"Th-then, then, don't leave me, please. Mother, father, grandfather, everyone has left me, please don't leave me alone.." as more tears formed and hit her brother on the forehead.

"Kay, trust me; maybe, things were suppose to be this way, but listen, no matter what anyone says, don't give up and promise me, don't take the path of an avenger; you can do anything that you put your mind to. I can say that you're the best sister ever and that I love you. You have the strength to carry on through anything. Don't lose hope and always remember that you really are stronger than you know." He said as he put his fingers to her forehead, and with that final conversation, he was gone, just like that. "No, no, Haku, please don't leave me!" She yelled as she began to sprout more tears as she held her brother's body close to her heart; she just couldn't let him go and now, she felt lost without him.

From behind her, she heard a familiar voice, "You should have become used to this by now; everyday, shinobi face deaths, and we are suppose to become emotionless, never to show our true emotions, because they get in the way of our missions." Katara turned around to see that it was Itachi and she replied with, "Why, why did you do this?" (as tears still came down)

"To see what I was capable of" the Uchiha prodigy replied as he looked directly at the Uchiha heiress.

"T-to test your strength, that's why you did this!" she said in a more angrier tone. "You killed all these people just for that!" the heiress said as she slammed her fist into the ground, causing the earth to shake and a crater to be formed. As her angry increased more, purple chakra slowly began to leak out from her birthmark and slowly enveloped her form. As Itachi slowly looked down upon her, he saw she was slowly changing as her nails and teeth became sharper, and as her eyes became a more defined blue color.

The transformation came to the Uchiha as a shock, but in an instand, he decided that things were just about to get interesting. As the Uchiha heiress shakingly got up onto her knees, she glared intensely at her opponent with her icy, blue eyes and slightly growled at him.

Itachi carefully lowered down to her eye level and lifted her chin up and said, "This clan meant nothing to me; they're all inferior; just because they came from the Uchiha clan, they thought they were so much stronger, but I proved them wrong." He said as his sharingan eyes glared at her blue orbs. Katara quickly slapped his hands away and got on her feet and managed to take out her kunai and slash him on his cheek as it seemed that her speed and reflexes increased from her extra reserves of chakra.

As Katara distanced herself from Itachi, she had her kunai kinfe in front of her, ready to fight back. "I have nothing else to lose anymore; and I intend to stop you!" she said as she activated her sharingan. Her mood suddenly changed into a more threatening one as she got into a ready stance to fight.

"Hn…." Itachi said as he gave her a sinister smirk; "You know, I always thought you were much stronger than your brother, especially when I saw your new bloodline the other day; you didn't seem to have given your all in that battle. And now this...." He said as he was mocking her and slowly circling around her like a predator who just caught his prey.

"Stop it! You don't know anything!" yelled the heiress.

"Hn…." He said as he jumped into battle with his katana as Katara threw shuriken at him to stop his advances; he easily deflected them with his sword and kept heading after her. He quickly disappeared from her sight, but then she felt his presence from behind and managed to kick him on his side, before he grabbed her and threw her aside. She tried getting up, but he was too quick for her and punched and kicked her more while she was down. The chakra that had enveloped her a few minutes ago slowly regressed back to her birthmark and as Katara was lying on the floor, she felt the coppery taste of her own blood come out form her mouth. As she made her body unwillingly prop itself on her arms and turned to see Itachi lifted her up by the collar of her shirt as he was about to cause more injuries to her, but then he saw a change in her eyes. They became more crimson with more tomoes and it seemed that she had her own form of the Mangekyou Sharingan. He was astonished and wondered when she had attained this, and then suddenly he felt a surging heat behind him. The heat was actually coming from Katara's eyes; they were more strained and he saw that she had been able to activate the Amaterasu. The black flames began to head towards him and he knew he had to end this, so as Katara felt the effects of using the Amaterasu, he quickly activated his own Mangekyou Sharingan and knocked her out with an illusion. Afterwards, he began to head out and kill the rest of the clan.

* * *

As the school day drew to a close, Sasuke seemed to be the only one to stay back and practice more on his aim with the shuriken. As nightfall was closing down, he realized that he was late and hurriedly ran home. **'I've stayed out for awhile………hmm……..I thought I saw someone there.' He thought **as he turned around to see if anyone was really there. **'Wait, the lights are out…..it's not time to sleep yet.' Sasuke thought **as he began to run through the Uchiha District and saw many kunai knives along with bloodshed and dead bodies littering the streets. **'This is….what is this?' he thought **as he ran as fast as he could towards his home. **'What's going on?'**

As he made it to his household, he took off his shoes and entered into the home. Sasuke saw that the whole home was dark and as he looked around he screamed, "Father? Mother? Are you there?!" The young Uchiha decides to look around the household even more and as he hears a noise from the far right of the home, he became scared and froze in place as he stood in front of the door. He was frozen still as he was afraid to even see what would lie beyond that door. **'Someone's in there ………move! Move!' he thought as** he quickly shoved the door open. As he looked around, he was even ore horrified as he saw the dead bodies of his parents on the ground smothered in their own blood.

"Father! Mother?!" Sasuke screams once again, but became calm when he saw his older brother.

"Brother! Father and mother were………Why? Why? Who do this?" Sasuke asked as tears began to form in his eyes. Instantly, a shuriken was thrown at him in the shoulder, causing a bleeding wound to occur. As Sasuke stood there shocked at what had happened, his arm stung as his left arm hold his shoulder to stop the bleeding. "Brother, what are you…..what are you doing?" questioned the youner Uchiha.

"Foolish little brother.." the older Uchiha said as he used his own sharingan eyes and trapped his little brother into an illusion. As Sasuke was stuck in Itachi's illusion world, the whole world was in a crimson color, and it seemed that time and space was frozen. As Itachi showed Sasuke what had happened, Sasuke was loudly screaming as the bodies of each member of the Uchiha clan fell the ground. As Itachi showed him their parents' deaths, the illusion ended with Sasuke's constant screaming as he slumped to the ground, out of breath.

"Why…….why did you….?" Asked the younger Uchiha.

"To see what I was capable of." Replied Itachi.

"What you were capable of? That was it? You killed everyone for that reason?" Sasuke questioned as he stayed laying on the ground.

"It is important." Replied Itachi.

Once after Itachi said that, Sasuke got onto his feet and charged directly at his brother. As he tried to fight back, Itachi quickly hit him in the gut and Sasuke eventually falls to the ground. As he is lying there, he looks at his parents' faces and cries even more. **'I think I'm scared.' Thought Sasuke **as he gets up and runs away from his brother.

"Don't kill me!" the younger Uchiha screamed as he ran from his home, hoping that his brother was not following him. As he neared the alley, he saw that Itachi was standing right in front of him.

"You're not even worth killing. Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way, run, run, and cling to life." The older Uchiha said as his own brother ran away.

* * *

_Dream: _

_In a dream-like state, Katara was currently unconscious in a bright, white room. As she woke up in her own dream, her navy eyes were blinded by the brightness and as she squinted to see what was up ahead of her, she saw a closed door. The Uchiha heiress quickly walked up to the door, and with a little bit of hesitation at first, she turned the knob and entered into a nightmare: _

_As Katara was watching helplessly as everyone around her slowly fell to the ground dying, she couldn't help but utter a scream. As she turned to assist most of the people, she found that she was transparent and just went through everything like a ghost. As she slowly looked at her hands, she turned to see the worst scene, the death of her brother. In her eyes, she could see how the light and life from Haku's eyes slowly faded away as her other self held her brother close to her chest. _

_As the real Katara stood back and watched what happened, she couldn't understand the horrors she was watching at the moment. As she knelt down and cluthed onto her head to stop from showing her these events, she quickly closed her eyes, but slowly opened them as she came upon another scene: _

_"This clan meant nothing to me; they're all inferior; just because they came from the Uchiha clan, they thought they were so much stronger, but I proved them wrong." He said as his sharingan eyes glared at her blue orbs. _

_A little, navy-eyed girl screamed back, "I have nothing else to lose anymore; and I intend to stop you!" she said as she activated her sharingan. _

_**'T-that girl looks like me.' thought Katara **as she watched a fight occur before her eyes. _

**_'That's because it is you.' a voice said as it appeared out of nowhere. _**

_**"Wh-what, what do you mean? This is just a dream, there's no way this happened." exclaimed Katara **as her dream turned to become a meeting with her inner demon. _

_The silver-scaled dragon slowly met up with her container and slowly circled her like some sort of prey. As Katara cautiously watched Hikari, she slowly stepped back and said, **"T-this didn't happen in real life. This is all just a bad dream. There's no way!" **_

_Her demon devilishly smirked back and stared at the Uchiha with her ice, blue eyes until the dragon replied with, **'That's what you think. You just let everyone down. I'm just showing you what happened only a few hours ago. I thought you should just be informed.'**_

_As Hikari's words sunk in, the Uchiha heiress slowly dropped down onto her knees and closed and eyes and let several tears come down form her face. **'No! I don't believe you!' exclaimed the Uchiha **as she slowly began to retreat from her demon. _

_But as Katara kept running and running onwards, Hikari's voice kept echoeing every step of the way: **'You were too weak to save anyone...what use are you to others if you couldn't even protect them. It was your fault your brother is gone now.' **As Katarar violently shook her head to rid her of the voices and couldn't help but fall down in defeat as she heard the words over and over again. _

_Dream ends. _

The Uchiha heiress woke up in a hospital wing, hoping that all of this was just a dream; she saw that she sustained some injuries and as she sat up on her bed, she saw that she heavily sweating form her nightmare. As she got up form her bed, Katara overheard some medics talk about what happened last night. She heard whispers of the "Uchiha clan being gone,' 'that there were only two survivors,' and that the murderer was 'Uchiha Itachi.'

Katara couldn't take it anymore; she refused to believe that everyone was gone and as she ran outside into the rain, clutching onto her necklace, she ran towards the familiar street of her home. She couldn't tell if it were tears or the rain pouring from her face as she entered into her estate and saw the whole bloody mess. She fell to her knees looking at the scene, and last night's events replayed in her head. She remembered the whole bloody mess at the Uchiha mansion, but as she traveled towards the other parts of the clan, she saw a lot more than she needed. She quickly turned the corner towards Sasuke's house and saw that every house was empty. Then she slowly turned to go to her own home as she was met with her own guilt.

'**I-I let everyone die……' **more tears**. 'I wasn't strong enough to save them….what kind of ninja am I? I've worked so hard to get here and I was just too weak!' the heiress thought.**

"Damn it! Why couldn't I save them?" she accidently said aloud and smashed her fists onto the dirt ground and allowed more of her tears to fall.

"You should get out of the rain; you're going to catch a cold." A familiar voice said as she turned around with puffy, red eyes to see no one else than her sensei, Kakashi, holding out a hand and umbrella to help her up.

"Arigatou, Kakashi-sensei." The heiress mumbled as she was forced to stay next to him, under the umbrella. Tears were still pouring from her eyes as he led her back to the hospital. Back at the hospital, all the doctors and nurses were frantically searching for the missing Uchiha heiress and as she entered through the sliding doors with her sensei, they were relieved.

"Princess Katara, you should know better than to run away." A nurse with red hair said, but the Uchiha didn't bother to listen, as she was lost in her own thoughts. "Sorry, I'll lead her to her room." Her sensei said as they headed towards her room.

* * *

"Hn…….what are you thinking about, Katara?" the silver-haired jounin asked as he quietly closed the door, while the heiress took a seat on the bed. The jounin was currently leaning on the wall straight across from her bed, waiting for an answer.

"It, it was unfair about what happened yesterday….." she stated as more tears started to come out as she clutched her head. "It was all my fault….sniffle…..I just was too weak to save them. To save anyone. All that training to be a medic was for nothing. What use am I if I couldn't even save my family?! I'm worthless. I can't even do the most simplest thing. I shouldn't even be alive! Haku deserves this more than I do. He deserves to be alive." The heiress said as more tears came out.

"I know this situation is hard on you, but hardships will always happen in our lives, we just have to learn to get through them before they overtake us." Replied Kakashi as he got closer to her bed and put his hand on her shoulder for support.

Katara slowly lifted her head up as she saw her sensei and answered,"No……..you don't understand; he risked his life for mine. And I stood there and did nothing, while I watched him get killed! I don't deserve to be here! It was all my fault." the Uchiha had said as she roughly slammed her fist onto the nightstand near her bed.

"Katara! Did you ever think there was a reason why he risked everything to save you? You need to realize that everyone out there did everything just to protect you both. And when it came down to the two of you, your brother, Haku was willingly enough to save your life. You should be grateful!" yelled Kakashi.

The heiress looked away from her sensei as she was reflecting on what he just said. It was true that he did die for her, but she still felt responsible for the loss of his life. "I know that, but it just hurts to know that he's gone, and that he'll never come back." The Uchiha replied as she got a tissue to blow her nose.

"Look, Katara, there's different types of hurt in life. Instead of staying in the past, you need to look towards the future. I'm sure that if Haku was here today, he would want you to move on and continue on with your life."

"I guess you're right, sensei." Katara replied as she began to stop crying, but she could not admit that fact to herself, because on the inside, she truly blamed herself for everything.

"And there's something else you need to know."

"What is it?" Katara asked.

"Don't take the path of vengeance; I've seen what it does to people, there's no point to it; just move on, it will make it easier for you and for the others that care about you."

The princess had nothing to say; she was speechless, but there was just something in the back of her mind that kept telling her to ignore that comment because somewhere inside of her, some part of her wanted to avenge her clan's death.

Just then, her teammates, Koji and Keiko walked through the door and came to embrace their teammate. "Oh Katara, I'm so sorry…." The Hyuuga said as she too started crying. Koji also began to show sympathy as he tried soothing both his female comrades. "Look, things are going to be ok, we'll all work through this no matter what." The Takahashi said to his teammates.

'**Hn…..it's always like him to saw something sensible like that.' The copy-ninja thought as he gave a small smile through his mask. And with that, Team 7 gave their youngest teammate a big hug to comfort her. **

* * *

**A few days later: **

It was a gloomy day that started off with rain and clouds in the sky. The Uchiha heiress was quietly getting ready for the Uchiha Clan's Memorial Service later in the morning. She was putting on a black funeral dress along with black ninja sandals. Her hair was kept down; it reached down a few inches below her shoulders. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she saw that the sparkle in her eyes were gone, and were replaced with nothing. She still wore her necklace that her parents gave her and as she looked into the mirror again, she silently cried as she remembered the day she received the necklace. As she was wiping her tears away, she checked the clock and saw that it was a quarter to nine. Katara quickly tied her hitate-ate around her neck and cleaned herself up before going to the service that would start at nine. Somehow, she felt that if she was there, she would at least be able to gain some closure.

As she checked the whole apartment, she slowly walked outside and locked the door. She quickly turned her head back to look at the door in silence as she remembered that her brother always waited for her for everything. She quickly looked away, afraid that tears would come back to her eyes as she quickly walked away towards the meeting place to meet up with her teammates.

* * *

Katara was able to make it to the bridge without having any tears fall from her face. It took a lot out of her from stopping herself, but as she came to the bridge and saw her teammates and sensei waiting for her. She ran up to them and without talking to each other, all four members of Team 7 slowly walked to the Uchiha Clan's Memorial Service.

The walk proved to be very quiet and it seemed longer than it normally would. The rain had let up and as Team 7 was walking to near the end of town, the Uchiha heiress was the only one behind the pack. Her slow and even pace was caused from having all her memories flooding back to her, all at the same time. But finally, when she was disrupted from her thoughts when she saw the whole village at the service, she slowly made her way up towards the front along with her teammates to where Sasuke was. The memorial stone was in the shape of the Uchiha Clan's Crest along with all the names who had died during the massacre. Many white flowers adorned the stone as it seemed that everyone was here to give their blessings.

Katara quietly stood beside her long-childhood friend as the service began with a speech from the 3rd Hokage. "Welcome everyone. I'm sure that you all who are here know why we're all here. We're all here to honor the accomplishments and sacrifices the Legendary Uchiha Clan has contributed to this village. This memorial service is to honor them for everything they have done for us. Unfortunately, this clan is no longer with us, except for three members. Two of those members, you know are Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Katara. Let us just know that these two are a blessing to us and I'm sure they'll both live to make their clan proud of them. This clan is the most renowned clan in our village and hopefully, they all are in a better place. Let us not forget who they are, and we must move on from this tragedy and hope that those who survived will live through this as well."

At the end of the hokage's speech everyone stood in silence as a sign of respect towards the Uchiha Clan. Everyone then lined up to give more flowers on the memorial stone. As Katara's turn came up to put down the flower, the hokage handed her Haku's crimson colored necklace; she quickly broke down into tears as she laid down her flower onto the stone. As she looked at everyone's name, the name of her brother made her tear up even more, and as Sasuke finished putting down his flower, he quickly embraced his friend and gave her a hug as he let her cry onto his shirt. Keiko and Koji were behind her as well as they put their flowers down and showed their respect. They were about to go join their teammate until they were stopped by their sensei. "You two should leave them alone for now." Said Kakashi.

"But sensei, Katara needs us right now." Keiko replied.

"No, he's right, Keiko. They need to be alone for awhile." Said Koji. "We should leave them alone for now."

"Alright." The Hyuuga replied as she surrendered and left the area with her friend and sensei.

* * *

Katara continued to cry into Sasuke's shirt as they both were the only ones that stayed back after the service was over. Everyone had left after showing their respect and Katara couldn't help it, but she just couldn't stop herself. Once collecting herself together, she looked up at Sasuke and quietly thanked her friend for being there.

"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun." Said Katara as she was trying to stop herself from crying again.

"It's ok, Katara….." Sasuke replied as he allowed her to grab his shirt and cry in it some more, "It'll all be fine. Don't worry about it. I promise you, that I will avenge the Uchiha Clan for the sake of both of us. He'll pay for what he did." Sasuke whispered in her ear as he comforted her.

Katara did nothing but cry some more from the death of her family and the fact that she was worried about Sasuke's new attitude. **'I just hope I don't lose you too, Sasuke.' The heiress thought as she cried some more. **Sasuke continued to soothe her until the sun was about to set. They had spent over half the day at the memorial stone and as it was about to turn to dusk, Sasuke managed to take Katara back to her apartment before going back to his.

* * *

As Katara got into bed, she struggled to sleep as her mind kept traveling back to the tragic massacre. She couldn't really do anything about it, but she managed to get out of bed, turn on the lights, and take out some old pictures of her and her family. She quickly took out her brother's necklace and as she looked through the pictures, she gave a smile as she felt that the necklace held some part of her brother. As she looked at her wrist, she remembered the friendship bracelet that would always bind the three friends together. And at some point after this tragic incident, she was able to make a full smile. As sleep overtook her eyes, she soon dreamt about the many adventures her brother, Sasuke, and she had together.

* * *

**This was a pretty long, emotional chapter......I hope everyone liked it. I was trying to have the chapter go from an ominious feeling to a feeling of sadness. I hope I managed to ****accomplish that. **

**But hopefully everyone out there enjoyed/liked how the story is progressing? Tell me your thoughts and please make sure to review! It would mean alot to me...**

**Once again, thank you! **

**-katarauchiha653719**

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	14. Chapter 11: The Meaning of Friendship

**I'm glad that I've been able to update this story as well! This chapter is supposed to be like a "filler" I guess you could say to just how she's dealing with life after what had just happened. And I hope the last chapter was able to live up to your expectations and I'm sorry that this chapter isn't as long, but hopefully it works out. **

**Please enjoy! And make sure to review at the end! **

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Chapter 11: The Meaning of Friendship

A few days after the Uchiha Clan's Memorial Service, the morning light was silently creeping through as the young Uchiha heiress got up and got dressed. Today, she had no important plans today, except just to go and to help out at the Konoha Hospital. As she silently got dressed in a navy blue top and a black skort, she saw herself in the mirror; it seemed that her face looked a little better than from yesterday. Of course, the puffiness from her crying still left a mark on her face, but hopefully, it would disappear later in the day. After grabbing some toast for breakfast, Katara quickly put on her black ninja sandals and made her way towards the hospital.

The hospital was a huge, white building that no one could miss. As the young Uchiha entered into the building, she saw the regular hussle and bussle of all the doctors and nurses rushing to get their jobs done. As she made her way to the front desk, a nice nurse, by the name of Akina, smiled at the Uchiha heiress as she signed in for her shift. After finishing up and signing in, the Uchiha quickly checked on her clipboard to see what she was assigned to do for the day.

'**Hmm……..alright. Nothing major that has to be done. Just a few chores, like feeding the sick, being a back up healer if anyone comes in, and that's basically it. I guess this should be an easy day.' Thought Katara **as she made her way towards the cafeteria to grab food to feed the sick. As she entered into the cafeteria, she felt like an outcast. Just by stepping to the room, everyone stopped their normal business and turned around to stare at her with faces of sympathy or with something else, like a look of disgust. After all, most people knew about her clan's extinction, while also some people just never got over the fact that she had this demon inside of her. But after getting the courage to just walk through and to grab the food cart, the Uchiha quickly left the cafeteria and made her daily rounds to each room to pass out the food.

After about 3 hours of making sure that everyone got their food and were well satisfied, Uchiha Katara was stopped by a medic nin with blue hair; he was in his mid-twenties and was currently dressed in his medic attire. "Katara-chan, there's a patient that needs medical attention in Room 207, do you think you can take care of him?" asked the medic.

"Sure, Akio-sama. What's his condition?" the Uchiha asked as she was walking side by side with the medic.

"He just seemed to overstrain and seemed to pass out from exhaustion. It's nothing too serious, but we needed someone to stay with him to make sure he's ok." Replied the medic.

"Alright, not a problem, you can leave now, I'll take care of him." Answered Katara as the other medic left to go back to his duties. As Katara made her way down the hall, she spotted Room 207 and quietly opened the door as she was afraid that the patient would be resting and did not want to wake him up. As she silently closed the door behind her, she saw her patient sitting up on his bed with his eyes closed and legs crossed as it seemed that he was meditating.

As she got closer, she realized that she had seen this boy somewhere. At the moment, she couldn't really recall where she had seen him, so she continued to stare, until a male voice broke her from her trance, "If you're going to stare like that, you might as well take a picture," the white-haired boy said as he opened one purple eye and looked directly into Katara's navy orbs.

Shocked as ever, the Uchiha was a bit embarrassed and as she scratched the back of her head, she retained her composure and apologized, "Gomen, I just……..I….it's just I've seen you somewhere before, but I couldn't figure out where. Well I guess I should introduce myself; the name's Uchiha Katara, yours?"

"Osaka Akeno." The white-haired boy said as he went back to his meditating. "And by the way, I was in your class. I was the one who always sat quietly in the corner."

"Oh yeah! That's why you're so familiar!" exclaimed the Uchiha.

As the Uchiha took a seat near her patient, she quickly checked for any major injuries, but after a moment of silence, she broke the silence as she said, "Well, you're vital signs are fine, and you just seemed to have over done it. Next time, don't exhaust yourself." The Uchiha sternly said as she was writing down notes on her clipboard.

"So, how are you doing?" questioned Akeno as he opened his eyes after done meditating.

"I'm fine, you?" questioned the Uchiha as she thought it would be polite to ask how he was.

"I didn't mean it that way. I meant, how are you doing with your loss?" asked Akeno again. As soon as that was said, the Uchiha stopped writing as she put her pen down and turned to face Akeno with sad, navy orbs full of tears. As she stared directly into his eyes, she broke down in tears.

Sniffle…. "I'm sorry, I really should stop." Katara said was she was wiping her tears away. As she was about to grab some tissues, the older boy, managed to beat her too it as he handed her some. "Arigatou." The heiress replied as she used the tissues to wipe her tears away. Just as she finished up, the Osaka moved over a little to make room on the bed as he patted the spot next to him for her to sit down.

"Look, I know how hard it is. I lost my family in a raid by some S-class criminals. I've been through this before, so I know how you feel. Lost, helpless, weak." The white-haired boy said as he looked Katara straight in the eye. "The trick is to not let that person win; you can't let him control the way you want to live life; right now, you're suffering because of him, but don't let him make you suffer, you need to move on."

As the Uchiha listened to his advice, she realized that he did make sense. She just couldn't help to wonder that the whole thing was her own fault for not being strong enough.

"I know, it's just……..it feels like it was all my fault. I just wasn't strong enough to protect them." Said the Uchiha.

"I went through that same phase. And no! It wasn't your fault. No one could've predicted that this would have happened. And you shouldn't think you're weak. You really are stronger than you think you are. I mean, if you're still alive today, you must have been strong enough to make it through this." Said Akeno.

As the Uchiha heiress thought it over, she felt so much better about talking about her feelings and she was actually glad she met Akeno today.

Giggle… "Thanks, that means a lot to me." The Uchiha said. "What happened to your family and how did you deal with it?" questioned Katara. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

The white-haired boy stared at her with his purple-eyes and replied, "No, it's ok. I lost them at a very young age, so I'm use to it. My family and I used to live in the northeastern part of town. And one night a ninja group full of missing nin and S-class criminals stopped by that part of town to steal some supplies that they needed. My family actually owned a weapons shop and we were currently closing up until some missing ninja came up to us and threatened to kill us if we didn't give them extra weapons. My father was never one to easily give up, so he decided to just fight back along with my mother, sister, and grandfather. I was too young at the time, so I didn't have any ninja training at all. All I did was hide behind my mother. Then, those missing nin called in some recruits and dragged my family and I out of the shop and put it on fire. Outside, we realized that we were surrounded by the ninja and had no choice but to fight. One by one, I watched my whole family get murdered and soon enough, no one else was left but me. Those ninja closed in on me, and at that moment, I felt an urge of rage surge out of me, and I don't really know what happened next. All I know was most of the ninja were fatally injured or dead. And when I caught sight of one ninja trying to escape I managed to stop him and asked who was responsible for this. That man, that one man's name was Kimura Hitoshi, a S-class criminal from the Hidden Lightning Village known for being a leader in one of the most toughest missing nin gangs." Akeno said as he tightened his fists as his demeanor changed to one of anger. "I know one day, I'll find him, and when I do, I'm going to avenge my family's death." Uchiha Katara stared at her new friend with a bit of worry as she realized that he reminded her of Sasuke. Ever since the massacre, Sasuke become more cold-hearted and didn't really talk to her anymore; it seemed that he just wanted to be alone and train.

As the room got quiet again, Akeno said, "Well, that's basically my life-story. But I think you need someone to help you through this. And I'll be happy to help. You seem like a nice person, and from the looks of it, you're in the most fragile state right now."

"Thanks again. Well, I guess we can probably get out of here. I'm done for the day, and I need someone to get my mind off to things, so do you want to hangout? You know, as friends?" questioned the Uchiha.

Chuckle, "Friends it is then." Akeno said as he got off the bed and raced Katara to the door.

* * *

**A few weeks later: **

After spending most of their days together, Katara and Akeno found that they were great friends. They enjoyed each other's company and they managed to form a close bond. From the looks of it, Katara managed to find a new friend that understood her and she felt that she knew Akeno her whole life. Even though she became close to the Osaka, she knew that he could never fill the void that Sasuke had in her heart. But they would do everything together; they would always talk about their dreams, and other things as well. They always enjoyed watching the clouds and stars together and they both helped the other train to increase their skills. Throughout the past weeks, they were inseparable, and somehow, Katara's teammates noticed a difference in her behavior and saw that she was smiling and laughing and was happy again, so that made them happy. It seemed like having Akeno as a friend in her life was the best thing that ever happened; maybe her luck was changing.

After a long day of swimming in the lake, eating popsicles, training, and looking at the stars, Akeno and Katara were walking back home. As they reached Katara's apartment, they said their good-byes and the Uchiha couldn't wait for another fun day. Tomorrow, both friends planned to try to see what Kakashi-sensei's face looked like, and of course, Katara along with her teammates couldn't pass up the opportunity to find out. So she was definitely excited for tomorrow as she got in bed and headed off to dreamland.

_Dream: _

_The Uchiha heiress was currently walking around the village during the night, as she come upon a person that was standing a few yards in front of her. As she got closer to the person, she recognized him as her friend Osaka Akeno. As she was approaching him with a big smile, her smile disappeared as she realized that it seemed that he had packed most of his stuff along with having this dark demeanor show up on his face. He turned around to see Katara, and as he was about to move forward, she grabbed onto his arm and asked where he was going. _

"_Katara……..look, sometimes, I have to do things my own way. I've finally decided that I'm leaving this village for more power. My whole dream in life was to find Kimura Hitoshi and get my revenge. The fact is, I'm not strong enough, so I'm going to someone else for help." Said the white-haired boy._

"_W-what?!" Exclaimed the Uchiha as tears prepared to fall from her face. "Y-you can't! Just stay here and I can help you get stronger. You don't have to leave. Please don't! You've helped me through everything and I owe it to you to help. Just please, don't leave me alone." Said the Uchiha as she slumped to the ground begging that her friend wouldn't leave. _

_The Osaka quickly got down to her eye level and said, "You won't be alone, you have your teammates, and sensei, and they'll always be there for you. And so will I. I'm going to come back someday, Katara. Don't worry about me. I'm going to Orochimaru and as soon as I'm done with getting my revenge, I'll come back. We'll always be friend, alright?" he asked as he wiped her tears away and gave her a hug. _

"_Just one more thing, Katara, I'll be back, I promise, just make sure to wait for me." Akeno said as he left, leaving the Uchiha behind. _

_Dream ends. _

As Katara's dream ended, she quickly got out of bed full of sweat from her nightmare. She was actually afraid that this would happen, so she got up, put her ninja clothes on and quickly ran out the door towards the only exit out from the village. As she approached the exit, she didn't see anyone there, so she calmed down and just thought that her dream was just a dream. As she slowed down her pace and rest her hands on her knees, she took deep breathes. Looking up from her position once again, she saw what she never thought she would've seen. As she stood up straight, not a few yards from her was Osaka Akeno, with a backpack on his back.

"Akeno! What are you doing?" questioned the Uchiha as she moved closer towards her friend. He turned around to see Katara, and looked at her with his purple eyes. Just by the look in his eyes, she knew what he was about to do and as he was about to move forward, she grabbed onto his arm and asked where he was going.

"Katara, sometimes, I have to do things my own way. I've worked up to my whole life for this. I've finally decided that I'm leaving this village for more power. My whole dream in life was to find Kimura Hitoshi and get my revenge. The fact is, I'm not strong enough, so I'm going to someone else for help." Said the white-haired boy.

"W-what?!" Exclaimed the Uchiha as tears prepared to fall from her face. "Y-you can't! Just stay here and I can help you get stronger. You don't have to leave. Please don't! You've helped me through everything and I owe it to you to help. Just please, don't leave me alone. You're making a huge mistake, Akeno!" Said the Uchiha as she slumped to the ground begging that her friend wouldn't leave.

The Osaka quickly got down to her eye level and said, "You won't be alone, you have your teammates, and sensei, and they'll always be there for you. And so will I. Don't worry about me. I'm going to Orochimaru and as soon as I'm done with getting my revenge, I'll come back. We'll always be friends, alright?" he asked as he wiped her tears away and gave her a hug.

"Just one more thing, Katara, I'll be back, I promise, just make sure to wait for me." Akeno said as he hit a pressure point on the back of Katara's neck and softly put her on a bench as he left towards the Hidden Sound Village.

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As the morning sun crept onto the horizon, navy orbs opened and closed quickly as the sensitive light reached through her eyes. As she opened them again, Katara realized that she was out on a bench; her mind was brought once again to how her friend left, and as she thought about how much she would miss him, tears streamed down and stained her face. She thought it was all just a dream, but realized that she really was gone. For the rest of the day she just sat on that bench and cried until her teammates and teacher found her there and found out what happened. After finding their fragile teammate, Team 7 went to the hokage's office to report what had happened, while the young Uchiha sat in the background thinking how many hardships she just had to go through in her lifetime.

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**Hope to hear from you guys soon! Tell me what you guys think! **

**-katara**


	15. Chapter 12: Adjustments

**Here's another installment in Katara's ongoing life after what's has happened. And I felt as though the whole tone of the story was becoming gloomy, so I wanted to add something in that wasn't totally cheerful, but I still wanted to show that Katara could still have a fun time, despite all the hardships she's had to overcome. **

**Once again, I do not own Naruto, only my OC's. **

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Chapter 12: Adjustments

After a few weeks of feeling lonely and keeping herself locked up in her home, Uchiha Katara was silently watching the small droplets of rain fall down onto the window pane. It had been raining most of the day and as the Uchiha watched with her navy orbs in despair as the drops slowly fell, she was again reminded of the day of the massacre.

As the horrid image flashed through her mind, she couldn't help but close her eyes and clutch onto her head as she tried to stop her thoughts. Katara gained back her self-control after a few more minutes and as she continued her gazing of the water droplets, she instinctively held onto her necklace and gave a big, sad sigh.

'**I've already lost everyone important to me. My family, Itachi, Sasuke, and now Akeno. How can I say that I'm strong when I couldn't even save anyone?' thought Katara** as she looked out towards the dark, gloomy weather.

Katara continued to watch the weather for what felt like hours, but only about 20 more minutes in her dark, unlit room until the rain suddenly stopped. As she turned towards the clock to check the time, she saw that it was nearly almost lunchtime and she knew for a fact that she would be expected to show up to eat with her team. After what had happened just a few weeks ago, the Uchiha heiress rejected any invitations of going out or spending time with her team, except for training sessions. But in those instances, she wouldn't really talk and became anti-social as she only focused on her own skills, while ignoring her team members. Of course everyone noticed her change in behavior and as Kakashi tried to talk her out of it, she really didn't care to listen.

_Flashback: _

_After a long, tiring mission, Team 7 came back safely, only suffering minor injuries. As all three members made their way towards the Konohagakure Hospital, they swiftly picked up their speed. With the Uchiha leading in the front, both her teammates followed closely behind her and as Katara increased her speed even more, both Keiko and Koji were surprised. As the shock from their faces disappeared, they had to increase their speed to the limit in order to just keep up with her. _

"_Katara! Wait up!" exclaimed her Hyuuga teammate as she watched the Uchiha go even faster, as if she never even heard what she had said. Their male teammate, was also a bit flustered as to why Katara was in such a rush; with the current situate, Koji knew that his female teammate wasn't fine after everything has happened to her. And on the inside he knew that she was in an unstable state. Once the realization hit him, he knew the reason as to why she was in such a rush. __**'So that's it, she's avoiding us; it looks like she doesn't even want to be around us anymore. Now that I think of it, during the mission, she didn't really say a word…..she's distancing herself from us.' Thought the black-haired male **__as he looked up to see that Katara was gone from their sight. _

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_Skidding to a stop, the Uchiha heiress quickly turned around the corner and as she felt her teammates several meters behind her, she quickly disappeared from their sight and left from the path towards the hospital. She was suffering through small, minor scratches on her arms, but the Uchiha knew that she could heal those wounds in her own. At the moment, she only wanted to be by herself and headed towards a rooftop building. As she landed on top of the roof of an apartment building, she swiftly took a seat, hugged her knees, and looked directly across from her as she watched the civilians working and living happy lives. _

'_**I can't understand what's going on in my life right now. I mean, I should be happy, but there's just this obstacle in the way that I have to jump over to reach it. I can't deny that I want revenge, because some part of me does.' Thgouth the Uchiha **__as she continued to look below at the village. _

"_What do you want, Kakashi-sensei?" asked the Uchiha without turning around and meet the gaze od her sensei. _

"_Looks like I can't fool you, Katara." The silver-haired Jounin said as he stood behind her, but quickly sat beside her form. _

"_Hn…" replied the Uchiha as she closed her eyes to listen to the nice breeze of the wind. _

"_Katara…I heard about what happened to you and Akeno. What happened?" questioned her sensei as he turned to see if she was listening, and once the Uchiha's gaze faced his, he continued; "I heard from Koji and Keiko…" _

_With a sigh, the the leaf jounin waited for a response from his student. As there was about another moment of silence, the Uchiha suddenly responded back. "Kakashi-sensei, I don't really want to talk about it. Akeno just left….and I already lost Sasuke as well. He doesn't even care about me anymore. And what hurts is that, I still care about him."Katara had said as she avoided her sensei's gaze as some tears started to form. _

_As her tears began to fall from her eyes and as her bpdy began to shake, the Uchiha just turned to look down towards the ground as she continued, "I've lost everyone…so what's the point now? The only thing that's pushing me through all of this seems to be just my ninja career. There's nothing else, not as far as I can tell." _

_The silver-haired jounin looked at the Uchiha and replied back; "You're wrong Katara.." he had said while he watched the Uchiha stop shaking uncontrollably, but still continued on with your tears. Kakashi showed sympathy through his eye and as he sat their beside Katara, he continued to talk, knowing that Katara needed to hear this. "You have Keiko, Koji, myself, the hokage, and other people in the village you have grown close to. How can you say that you have nothing?" _

_Katara wiped her tears with her own hand as they continued to fall; as she turned to now look at her sensei, she answered, "Kakashi-sensei, ou don't understand what it's like to lose everything and everyone, all at one time. And when you have to live with that guilt, it eats you up on the inside." _

_Her sensei slowly turned away from her and looked straight ahead, as he gathered up his thoughts, he replied with, "I know the feeling; you just feel helpless and you just start to isolate yourself and blame yourself for what happened. But you have to move on. It's not healthy for you." _

_The Uchiha quickly stood up and all of a sudden tightened her fists in frustrationg; "No! You don't understand! You have no idea what it's like to lose everything! How would you feel if I took everything that's deat to you away?!" exclaimed Katara as she glared at her teacher. _

_With a calm expression on his face, Kakashi looked up at his student and studied her face; he saw that she was completely taken over by her own anger, and as the silver-ahried shinobi got up onto his feet and took hold of his shoulders, he responded back. "Go ahead, I've lost everyone dear to me." _

_As he watched her reaction, she had a look full of shock as she looked directly at her sensei. Her mood suddenly changed as she looked back at him with sympathy; "K-kakashi-sensei, I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to…" the Uchiha had started as she was suddenly interrupted by her teacher. "It's alright. That happened years ago; and I've moved on from it…because now I have others that are dear to me now, such as Keiko, Koji, and you. And that's what keeps me going. Just think about what I said, Katara." The copy cat nin said as he left in a poof. _

_The Uchiha stood there for a awhile as she loked out towards the village once again and thgouth over what her sensei had just told her. _

'_**I..I don't even know what to think anymore.' Thought the Uchiha heiress**__ as she spent the rest of her day, up above, sitting on the rooftop. _

_end flashback. _

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As Katara got ready, for lunch, she just thought over some things in her mind. She knew that her teammates couldn't hide their worry, especially Keiko who always tried to visit her friend and drag her out of the apartment. Koji always accompanied her and he was sympathetic and together, both of her teammates always tried to drag her out.

_Flashback: _

_Just like most other days, Uchiha Katara continued to lay on her couch in her living room, as she silently looked up towards the ceiling. As her eyes became accustomed to the bland pattern of the smooth ceiling, her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a knock at her door. _

_As she swiftly got up from the couh and towards the door, she instantly felt the same familiar chakra signatures she expected would always show up at her door. As she put her hand on the knob and slowly turned it, she could tell that from her chakra signature, her Hyuuga teammate was mad about something. On the other hand, the Takahashi seemed to have tried to calm her down as he followed her closely. _

_The Uchiha managed to open the door and welcomed both her teammates in her apartment, away from the cold of the night. As both Koji and Keiko took a seat on her couch, the Uchiha sat across from them in an armchair, waiting expectingly to hear what the Hyuuga would say. _

_As the Uchiha boredly rested her head on her hand on the arms of the chair, she turned her attention towards Keiko. From the corner of her eyes, she saw how Keiko was slowly fuming inside, and as Koji watched them both, he showed a hint of concern. The Takahashi was afraid what would happen between both his female teammates, which was why he came along when he saw the mad Hyuuga march towards Katara's home. _

"_What do you want, Keiko?" boredly questioned the Uchiha as she broke the silence. _

_With the tone of her comment, Koji could see that Katara had hit a nerve and as he got ready for Keiko's explosion, the Hyuuga yelled out, "What do I want, Uchiha?! What do I want?!" she repeated as she slowly got up from her seat and approached her teammate and gave the Uchiha a harsh glare. _

_Koji stood back as he watched Keiko slowly become controlled by her anger and he closely compared Katara's calm composure to Keiko's scary stature and waited to see what the unpredicatable Hyuuga would say next. _

"_You know what's your problem, Uchiha?!" yelled an angry Keiko as she narrowed her glare. _

_Katara gave the same intense glare back at the Hyuuga and replied with, "What, Hyuuga?!" and slowly got up from her seat to approach Keiko. _

_As the older girl's frame towered over Katara, Keiko slowly looked down at her and continued to yell. "You're letting this whole tragedy get to your head! Alright?! You just need to suck it up, and move on! Ever since this has happened, you've just been moping around like some poor victim trying to bring attention towards you to earn pity! Well you know what, Uchiha?! I'm sick of it! I am totally sick of it, and I know that Koji is too!" _

_The Uchiha continued on with her glare on her teammate and retorted with, "You know what, Hyuuga? Alright, I didn't choose for all of this to happen to me! Alright?! I never even wanted this to happen, but you know what?! It did! SO what do you suppose I do now?! I can't change anything! Don't expect me to change all of a sudden!" _

_The Hyuuga got ready to yell back at Katara, but as she was about to, Koji quickly covered her mouth and came into the conversation. "Katara, what Keiko wants to say is that we both miss you. You've changed and we're just worried about what's happening. You're slowly disappearing from our eyes. And we just want our old friend back. We both know it's going to take a lot to get you back to normal, but I think Keiko would appreciate it if we all, like old times joined up and had lunch together. Say tomorrow?" the Takahasahi said with a smile as he took his hand off Keiko's mouth. _

_The Hyuuga managed to calm down and as she looked up into her friend's navy orbs, her white orbs softened. Katara's eyes slowly met up with Keiko's and as they both looked at each other, Keiko broke the silence. "Katara, look, I'm sorry what I said. I just don't want to lose one of my best friends. And I really do miss you." _

_The Uchiha gave a big sigh and replied with, "I'm sorry too………..I can't promise you that I'll be back to my normal self soon, but I'll try my best. I guess lunch wouldn't be that bad." _

_With that response, the Hyuuga quickly approached her friened and embraced her in a hug. As both females broke from the embrace, they turned towards their male teammate. As both Keiko and Katara stared at him, he gave them a look as if they were both crazy as he raised his eyebrow at them. _

"_Come on, Koji. It's just a hug. I'm sure you'll survive." Playfully joked Keiko as both the Uchiha and Hyuuga made room for all three of the members of team 7 to hug. _

_End of flashback. _

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As Katara slowly watched the clock in despair she quickly saw she had about 20 more minutes before meeting up with her team at Ichiraku Ramen. The Uchiha heiress rapidly put on a jacket over hersky blue, long-sleeved shirt along with black ninja pants and quickly headed out of the door.

Although she knew she would be early, since the ramen stand was just near her apartment, she quickly made her way towards the restaurant and quietly took a seat. As she put her elbow on and counter and rested her chin on her arm, she zoned out straight ahead in her own thoughts.

As her head lifted up from its position, she saw that the owner of the stand, Teuchi, turned around to greet her. But as the old man turned around, he saw how sad the Uchiha was. He quickly turned to his daughter, Ayame, and quietly whispered something in her ear. With a nod towards her father, the brown-haired girl left to the back of the stand.

The old man quickly stopped from his work and approached the Uchiha as she continued to look straight ahead.

"Hey, kiddo, you alright?" asked Teuchi with a concerned voice.

"I-I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Replied the Uchiha as she turned towards the old man.

"Now you don't have to lie to me. You're, Uchiha Katara, right?" asked the ramen shop owner.

"Yeah, that's me." Sadly replied the Uchiha.

"Listen, Katara, I know that I don't know you that well, but you sometimes have to let things go. You can't hold onto them forever. I'm sure you parents along with your brother wouldn't want you to act like this. Just give it some time and I'm sure I'll see a smile from you yet." The old man said as he continued to clean the countertop until his daughter came back with come herbs and meat from the back.

As the brown-haired girl looked towards her father, he gave her a wink, and as they both prepared some more ramen, Katara slowly processed over the old man's words. As she continued off in her own world, an amazing aroma was set up in front of her as she looked down and saw a big bowl of ramen placed in front of her. As she looked up in surprise, before she could even get a word out, Ayame quickly said with a smile, "Don't worry about it, it's on the house."

And as Katara looked past the young girl, she saw that on the old man's face, was a kind, generous smile. As she looked back at him, she gave him her own smile and said, "Arigatou."

As the Uchiha was about to dig in she quickly said, "Itadakimasu," as she broke her chopsticks and dug into the delicious noodles. As she slowly enjoyed her meal, she turned around to see a blonde kid, about her age sitting next to her.

As she stopped to take a closer look at him, she saw the old man smile and say, "Hey, Naruto! There's my number one customer! So what will it be, kiddo?"

The blonde boy quickly replied with, "Just some miso park ramen, old man" as he smiled his own cheeky grin.

As the blonde boy was trying to wait patiently for his soup, he turned towards the Uchiha and stared intently at her with his hand on his chin, as if he had something on his mind. Katara quickly stopped eating and turned her head towards the boy and asked, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Hmmm…..nope, that's not it. It just seems as if you remind me of someone. You're not part of the Uchiha clan are you?" Naruto asked as he faced her.

Katara was shocked at the mention of her clan and as she quickly concealed it, she replied with, "Yeah……why?"

"It's nothing. There's just this huge jerk named Sasuke in my class. He thinks he's so great and all the girls go google-eyed when they see him. I don't see anything special about him." The blonde said as he stuck his nose up in the air to show his dislike for the boy.

Katara slowly raised her eyebrow up as she continued to look at the boy in front of her. She then responded back by saying, "Well, truthfully, maybe you should get to know him before you judge him. I mean, he could turn out to be a great guy."

As Naruto got his food put in front of him, he started to dig in and with one bite, he stopped to talk to Katara even more. "Pssh..yeah right. Don't tell me you're one of his fangirls too."

The Uchiha stopped eating and looked up at him and with a giggle, she quickly replied, "No, I'm not. I just know him personally. He was my best friend. But we've just grown apart." The Uchiha ended with a sad expression her her face.

The blonde boy noticed this and said, "Hey, one day you guys could probably be friends again. But who knows if I'll ever be nice to him. He's my rival. There's no way I'm going to befriend him!" he exclaimed as he pumped his fist into the air.

Katara had a gleam in her eye as she looked at the blonde boy and said, "Arigatou……I'm Uchiha Katara." The Uchiha had said as she held her hand out.

The blonde boy looked at her hand and was confused, until he finally figured out that he hadn't introduced himself yet. As he scratched the back of his head nervously, he shook her hand and said, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." And gave her the same cheeky grin he had given to the old man.

"Well, Naruto, it was very nice to meet you. I'm sure you'll get used to Sasuke. And I think you have what it takes to be strong." The Uchiha said with a smile.

Naruto looked at her in shock as his blue eyes widened and said, "R-really? Thanks, Katara. Say, I've never seen you around in the academy."

The Uchiha slowly tilted her head towards her new friend and said, "Oh, I graduated a long time ago, I'm actually an Anbu and Chuunin at the moment." As Katara watched her words sink into Naruto's mind, he quickly exclaimed, "No way! Y-you're like my age!"

The Uchiha heiress quickly giggled and said, "I've been working hard all my life, and I can sure tell you that hard work pays off."

The blonde boy quickly turned towards her and said jokingly, "Well, I guess you can definitely kick Sasuke's butt then!"

Both kids laughed at the joke and as they both calmed down, Katara actually gave him a genuine smile.

As both continued to eat their ramen, Katara heard a voice behind her and both kids turned around to see who it was, but of course, Katara already knew.

"Katara, at least you could've waited for us before eating." Joked the Hyuuga as she and Koji entered the stall. But Keiko's hardened eyes softened as she was happy to see her friend laughing again.

"Sorry, Keiko, Koji. I just got here early and I was really hungry." Apologized the Uchiha. "Oh, Naruto, these are my two teammates, Hyuuga Keiko and Takahashi Koji. Keiko, Koji, this is Uzumaki Naruto." Keiko and Koji quickly acknowledged the blonde boy and Naruto also gave them a nod in return.

"So you guys are Anbu too?" asked Naruto with much interest in his eyes.

"You better believe it!" the Hyuuga replied with a smile.

"That's so cool!" exclimaed Naruto. "Man, I can't wait to graduate and just show wat I'm made of!"

"Well then, just work hard and I'm sure you'll be on your way." Stated Koji as he set his order.

"You bet I will!" exclaimed Naruto as he finished his third bowl of ramen, while Katara had just finished her second.

"I'm sure you will. " the Uchiha said with a smile as all four of them continued to eat.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! I plan on updating at least once more during the holidays! Perhaps before or after New Years! **

**thanks once again! remember to review, please! **

**-katara**


	16. Chapter 13: Mission Start: B Ranked

**Well, here's another update! I just wanted to put this chapter up before I get back to school. Hopefully I'll be able to find time within my schedule once I get back. **

**Until then, I hope you guys continue to read along and review! Definitely want to hear what you guys think of it! Reviews are what are basically keeping me continue this story, along with my other story, so as long as you guys keep telling me what you think, I'll find time to update as soon as possible! **

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Chapter 13: Mission Start: B-Ranked: Protecting the Borders

After about a week of just calm, peacefulness in her life, the Uchiha heiress was up and ready as she sat at the table, eating a snack after a quiet dinner. As she buttered her toast in a slow fashion, she chewed onto it slowly as she looked out of the window and saw a small, black bird. Katara stopped from her previous action and as she looked at the bird again, she saw that it was a similar creature. **'That's Kakashi-sensei's bird. I wonder what it's up to now?' thought Katara **as she got up to put on her ninja sandals and exited her apartment.

At the precise moment she saw the bird, she knew that it was something important that she had to attend to. As she closed her eyes and searched for her sensei's chakra signature, she sensed that he was in the Hokage Tower. Katara quickly turned right and made her way directly into the tower and entered into the hokage's office in record time. As she skidded to a stop, the Uchiha quickly looked up and saw that her whole team was already there, along with her sensei and the Third.

"It's nice for you to finally come, Katara. That was quite impressive timing." The hokage said as he turned back to address Team 7. "Now, I'm sure you three are wondering why Kakashi summoned all of you here…." The hokage started as he looked at all three Chuunin, and then continued; "Well, it's been brought to my attention, that Kakashi believes you three are ready for a solo mission; after all, you three are very advanced chuunin and I wouldn't be surprised if you three became jounin anytime soon."

Inside all of Team 7's minds were surprise, but they all clearly hid it on their faces. As the Hyuuga switched her gaze from her sensei to the hokage and back, Keiko saw that the silver-haired jounin was smiling behind his mask. "Kakashi-sensei…you really believe in us that much?" questioned the Hyuuga as she widened her white eyes.

"Of course. All three of you have been able to get this far. I'm sure you three can handle a mission without me there." Replied the copy cat nin.

"Wow… this must be one really big step." Stated Koji as he too looked at their sensei.

The silence between the teacher and students were broken through as the hokage's voice spoke aloud, "Well then, we should get right down to business on what your mission will be…" the hokage began, but suddenly stopped as another person entered into the room. "Aw, Akira, we were just waiting for you to come in." he said with a smile. as a blue-haired kunoichi entered the room. "Now, as I was saying, about your mission, you four will be traveling to the borders of the Fire Country. Information has been leaked out that a group of dangerous Cloud shinobi are hidden up there and planning to invade. Your mission is to stop them at whatever is necessary. This mission is B-ranked, so be careful. I'm giving Katara leadership on this mission. And make sure that you all work together. If the scope of your mission goes beyond what you four are capable of, I want you to call for back up."

"Hai, Lord Hokage…" the Uchiha heiress replied as she looked directly into his serious eyes.

"Very well then. Katara, I'm counting on you as the leader to have everything under control. This is a big step for you; after all, you don't get to be a leader of a mission everyday. Now, you four are assigned to leave tonight; when you make your way to the border, conceal yourselves."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I hope to make you proud." Katara said as she stepped forward.

"Well then, there's nothing else for me to say, except, you are all dismissed." Said the Hokage as he waved his hand and dismissed them.

All four chuunin quickly left the hokage's office and as the silver-haired jounin watched them leave to pack for their mission, he turned back as the hokage asked him a question. "Are you sure Kakashi that Katara is up to this? I mean, after all, she is the youngest out of the squad and from what I heard, she seems to be at an unstable condition."

The jounin calmly leaned his back against the wall, put his hands in his pockets, and replied back with, "Hn….looks like you underestimate her too. I know you may have doubts in her, but her mind is always focused when on a mission. She needs this experience to grow and although she does seem unstable, she gives it her all during any mission given to her."

"Very well then, Kakashi. I trust your judgment." The Third said as he watched the jounin leave from his office.

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After receiving the news that she would be the team leader, Katara quickly transported herself back to her apartment in order to pack for the mission. The Uchiha didn't know how long she would be gone, therefore, she just decided to stock the minimal amount of things she would need for the mission. She quickly got out sharpened kunai and shuriken along with some scrolls and extra clothes. As she rapidly made some handsigns, she quickly packed away all of her things in her three scrolls, while putting her kunai and shuriken away in her holster.

Once she finished packing, she quickly retied her leafband around her forehead, tied her medium-length black hair into a pony-tail and fixed her clothes. She quickly straightened her navy long-sleeved top and her black ninja capris as she checked to see that everything was perfect. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw that the glow in her eyes was slowly coming back to her; with that in mind, the Uchiha heiress quickly put on her ninja shoes and left her apartment as she made her way towards the Konohagakure Gates.

The Uchiha had arrived at the exit of the village quite early and seeing that she was the first one there, she just decided to lean onto the wooden post, cross her arms, and watch the sunset. Her eyes widened in awe as she saw all the wonderful different shades of pink and orange blend neatly together and as she continued to watch the sunset, she felt quite content.

Feeling familiar chakra presences coming near her, Katara turned around to meet might up with everyone that would be going on the mission. Looking back at all three chuunin, she gave a quick nod of acknowledgement. From the looks of it, she saw Koybayashi Akira hadn't changed that much. Sure she was older and was about the same age as her two teammates, but other than that, she looked the same as Katara had always remembered. Akira still had the same short, light-blue hair with bright aqua eyes, and of course, still wearing her favorite color, blue.

"Alright, now that we're all here, I need to talk to you guys about something before we leave." Katara said in a serious tone as she stepped forward and looked directly at everyone on her squad. Knowing the tone their friend was using, everyone knew that the Uchiha was being serious. As Katara crossed her arms in front of her and opened her eyes, she continued with what she was going to say, "Now, all of you know that this mission is a very serious matter. If not handled quickly enough, there might be an all-out war between leaf and cloud. Failure is not an option here."

"Hai!" all three chuunin replied as the Uchiha heiress finished up with her speech.

With a nod from Katara, she quickly said, "Alright, let's move out then; we want to travel as much as we can before we have to stop and set up camp for the night." And with that, all five members of the platoon swiftly made their way out of the village and towards the borders of the Fire Country.

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After about achieving a distance of being half of the way there in less than two hours, the Uchiha quickly stopped and turned around to address her team. "We'll set up camp here. We need to retain our strength and we'll start up early tomorrow morning."

As everyone stopped and set up camp, Katara quickly set up a campfire and waited for everyone else to finish with their jobs. Everyone had finished setting up camp and had caught some fish just a few minutes after Katara finished. All four members of the squad quickly took a seat around the campfire and as they all quietly waited for their fish to be cooked, the Uchiha hugged her knees and looked directly into the fire. As the fire reflected through her eyes, she couldn't help but feel a bit depressed, but quickly got rid of that thought. **'I can't think about this right now. I need to focus on the mission. I can't get distracted.' Thought Katara **as she came back to reality and realized that the fish were done.

The Uchiha heiress quickly got up from her spot and onto her feet; she then went on to pick out all the fish on their sticks from out of the fire, and passed one to each of the members. As the members all ate their food in silence, Katara finished her food quickly and watched all her comrades closely. And as everyone continued to eat slowly, Katara couldn't stand the silence anymore and quickly broke through it; "So how is everyone? I mean, I haven't seen you, Akira, in such as long time. It's been awhile."

The bluette looked up from her food and smiled back and said, "Yeah, it has. Nothing has been up with me. I've just been working around as an intern in the hospital. I'm planning on becoming a great medic nin one day."

"That's amazing. I always knew you liked the medical field, Akira." Replied Koji as he joined into the conversation.

"Yeah, of course! The Hyuuga exclaimed as she too finished up with her dinner.

"Yeah, it's fun….so what have you three been doing? I haven't heard anything from you guys in awhile. I mean we've heard from Yumi and Ami, but they're not that much help." Said Akira.

"Yeah, I hear you, Kira. Yumi and Ami are two people that are tough to handle." Answered Keiko as all four laughed. Once the laughter died down, the Hyuuga quickly answered, "Well, for me, I've just been practicing everyday on my Byakugan. Other than that, there's nothing new. Same thing goes for Koji and Katara."

"I see… so you guys are all training really hard." Stated Akira as she smiled back at the three Team 7 members. "You three are really committed."

"Yeah… well, when you want to achieve something, you have to keep training to get to it." Replied the black-haired male.

"Very true." The bluette replied.

"So, Katara… anything new with you? I mean, I've heard from Yumi that you've been out of it lately. And, everyone's worried about you. I mean, I know that Keiko, Koji and as well as I do, at least." Said Akira as she locked her light-blue eyes with the Uchiha's navy orbs. As both pairs of eyes met, Katara purposely avoided Akira's eyes and as everyone turned to see the Uchiha get up onto her feet; Katara replied back with, "I'm going to take first watch." And with that, she left the area to go to a nearby rock to sit down and look up at the moon.

As all three chuunin watched their team leader leave the area, both the Hyuuga's and Takahashi's eyes showed a hint of sadness in them as they watched her leave. The bluette watched as she left too, and was very confused. Seeing that Katara was gone from her sight, Akira quickly turned back and was about to ask her teammates what had just happened, before Keiko jumped in.

"I'm sorry. It's just that… Katara has been feeling down lately. You know, it wasn't easy when someone deserts you and she's been taking it hard. I mean, she's fighting back hard not to let it get to her. It wasn't what you said Akira. Don't worry about it."

"I'm just worried, Keiko." Replied the blue-haired kunoichi as she got up and was about to make her way towards the Uchiha.

But Akira suddenly stopped as she heard Koji's voice; "Akira, don't leave just yet. There's something we need to explain to you before you go and talk to her."

The bluette suspiciously eyed her male comrade with her light-blue eyes before stopping herself and returning back to her seat. As Akira paid close attention to what was going to be said, Koji began to explain everything directly from the beginning of what led the Uchiha to feel this way. Keiko also joined in at some points and after a few more minutes of going through everything, the leaf kunoichi was shocked to hear what happened to her friend.

"I think at this moment, all she's basically focused on is revenge. She's trying to hide it from us, but I can tell that she wants it from the look in her eyes." Stated the Hyuuga as she looked at her male teammate with concern.

As the discussion finished, the blue-haired girl quickly got onto her feet and said, "I can't believe she's been through all of that. And she's been hiding it all along? Well then, she just needs someone to talk to about it." Akira had said as she left the campfire and made her way through the forest. As she felt the Uchiha's presence near her, she looked straight ahead and saw that Katara was sitting on a large boulder, looking up into the night sky.

The blue-haired girl quickly made her way towards Katara's spot and as she took a seat beside her, she saw the Uchiha heiress slightly tense up. As Akira watched her friend relax, she broke the silence and said, "It's beautiful, isn't it? I mean, I've never seen this many stars in the sky before." She said with a smile as she looked at the Uchiha with her blue eyes and then turned back to the dark, beautiful sky.

The Uchiha took her gaze off from the sky and turned to look at her female comrade. As she closely watched Akira with her navy orbs, she asked, "Why are you here, Akira?"

As the bluette's gaze looked away from the sky, she quickly turned her happy and cheerful gaze from the sky, back towards her friend and replied, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, I heard how much you've been through. And no one should ever have to go through something like that alone." Akira said as she touched the Uchiha's shoulder and looked deep into her eyes. By looking into the Uchiha's orbs, the bluette saw how much pain and hurt she was hiding throughout her life and as she looked back, she saw tears slowly form in her eyes.

As the Uchiha let her tears fall from her face, she quickly turned away and hid herself as she leaned down and covered her face in her hands. Sobs quickly escaped from the Uchiha and as the leaf kunoichi tried to comfort her, she also managed to get a few words in to calm her down. "Kay, I know that you've been through a lot. And I can understand why you act the way you do. I mean, I might not be able to associate with your feelings, but… you can't hold them all in."

Katara slowly heard those words and as soon as she was able to calm herself down, she replied back with, "Akira, I know you're trying to help, but… I'm confused. I don't even know who I am anymore. It's not just the fact that I've lost everything, it's just I feel as if I've lost myself."

With concerned eyes, the bluette looked back at the Uchiha and embraced her. As Akira held onto the younger girl, she whispered, "You haven't lost yourself, Katara. You've always been yourself. You're the girl that always manages to change people for the better; and trust me, I know. I remember the time before I even met you; I didn't even care about anything. I was the failure of the class."

_Flashback: _

"_You've got to be kidding me, Akira! After 15 tries, you can't even get the transformation jutsu right!" an angry Iruka said as he was yet again, yelling at another student. The young, blue–haired girl flinched at the tone of her sensei's voice and as she looked up with her light-blue eyes, she saw that Iruka showed a lot more anger than he usually did. _

_As her classmates all laughed at the predicament that the blue-haired girl was in, Akira felt humiliated like she always felt everyday._

"_That's it, Akira, if you're not going to take it seriously here, I want you to sit out in the hall, while everyone else gets to leave for break." Their sensei said as he pointed the way out of the door. The blue-haired girl slowly left the classroom and as she made her way out, she couldn't help but allow some tears fall down as she exited and heard the laughter continue. _

_From the corner of her eyes, Katara saw that everyone was laughing at her, and as she looked at the girl with concerned eyes, she saw the blue-haired girl cry as she left. Katara quickly turned back to look at her brother, who also had the same expression of concern just like hers. _

_The Uchiha heiress quickly slammed her fist on the ground and as she stood up in her seat, she exclaimed, "Hey! All of you have no right to laugh at her! Just stop it!" _

_All the students continued to laugh and one even answered back with, "Oh yeah?! She's a failure and she always will be! There's nothing special about her! I don't even know why she's even here!" _

_As that response was made, Katara's temper slowly moved up and she yelled out, "She isn't a failure! In fact, she never was! Maybe she's not as talented as most of us, but at least she tries! And because of that, she's not a failure! A failure is someone who gives up, but she's fighting all the way through!" _

_All the students listened intently and quickly stopped their laughter as they felt a bit ashamed for laughing. As Iruka watched what was happening in front of him, he gave a sincere smile towards Katara as all the students left the classroom for break. _

_Haku and Katara walked side by side each other as they walked through the hallways of the academy. As the Uchiha heiress quickly stopped in her tracks, she said, "Haku, you go ahead… I remember that I forgot something back in the classroom." _

"_You sure, Kay?" questioned her brother as he turned to look at his sister. _

"_Yeah, go on, I'll be back soon." His sister said with a smile and with that, Haku went through the door and went outside to join the other academy students. _

_After her brother had left, Katara went back to the path towards the classroom, and as she neared, she saw the same blue-haired girl sitting in the hallway, by herself, looking quite sad as she just stared straight ahead of her. Katara quickly made her way toward the girl and as she reached her form, the Uchiha leaned down to her eye level and sat across from her. _

_Not knowing what to do next, Katara just sat down and looked at the blue-haired girl. The silence was quickly broken when Akira said, "D-d-did you really mean what you said back there?" _

"_Huh?" asked the Uchiha as she was surprised to hear the blue-haired girl's voice. _

"_B-back there, in the classroom, you stood up for me. D-did you really mean what you said about me?" the blue-haired girl asked again. _

_The Uchiha quickly gave her a smile and looked at her light-blue eyes and said, "Of course I meant it! You're not a failure and you shouldn't allow others to make you feel horrible about yourself. I know you're better than that." _

_The blue-eyed girl quickly looked up in shock into the Uchiha's navy orbs and said, "T-thank you. It means a lot coming from someone like you. I mean you're one of the top students." The girl ended as she looked away. _

_Katara quickly got up and sat next to the girl and said, "Listen, I know you have talent inside you, you just have to try harder. I know you can do it." The Uchiha had said with a cheerful smile. _

"_Thank you and I will…" Akira answered. _

"_No problem…" Katara replied as she looked at the girl and then said, "I'm Uchiha Katara." And then held her hand out. _

_The blue-eyed girl stared at her hand and stuck her hand out to shake it as she said, "I'm Koybayashi Akira."_

"_Well then, Akira, you're my new friend!" the Uchiha heiress said as she put her hand forward. Without any hesitation, Akira took her hand and the Uchiha helped her back on her feet. _

_And as the two girls left the hallway, while Akira was being dragged away, she couldn't but hide a smile as she thought, __**'Thank you Katara. You've encouraged me to try my best.' **_

_End flashback._

"I remember that day so clearly; until that point, I didn't care, but you encouraged me to get up and actually do something with my life. And for that I am grateful and I just want you to know, that I'll always be there for you." Akira said as Katara looked up at the girl, while the bluette gave her a smile.

"Arigatou, Akira-chan. But there's more to it I..," the Uchiha heiress started but was interrupted as the blue-haired girl butted in. "I know that Katara. I know that…" the bluette said as she started to cry and clenched her fists. Katara watched closely as she saw that her friend was crying and as she was about to say something, the blue-haired girl continued with what she was about to say. "I know the kind of pain you're feeling, Katara, and it's so painful, that I feel it too. I know that you want revenge on the one who caused you this pain, I know that…But I can't stand back and watch my friend disappear." The bluette said as she continued to cry.

"Akira…" Katara calmly said as her blue-haired friend looked up at the Uchiha with her tear-stained face. "Thank you for always being there for me… but what I need is closure. Something that I don't think I can achieve without getting my revenge." The Uchiha ended as her eyes showed anger in them.

The blue-haired kunoichi looked up in shock at her friend and was surprised to hear that come from the Uchiha's mouth. "K-Katara you shouldn't say things like that! I know you don't mean it, so just stop it!" Akira exclaimed as she tried to grab her friend's arm to embrace her in a hug again. But as she grabbed onto the Uchiha's arm, Katara quickly pulled away and exclaimed back.

"No, Akira! I don't need your sympathy, alright?! I do mean what I said. He took everything from me that day and I've been lost ever since. He deserves to die for what he did! And whether it's by my hands or not, I can't continue living as long as I know he's out there." And with that, the Uchiha glared down at Akira and was surprised to see the leaf kunoichi try to embrace her again.

This time, Katara didn't stop her as the blue-haired girl pulled her in and as the Uchiha let her tears fall freely down from her face, Akira cried with her friend as well in the embrace. As she tried to soothe the Uchiha heiress by rubbing her back, and whispered, "It's alright, Katara. It's alright now. I'm glad you let your emotions out. You don't have to hold them in anymore. But you don't need revenge either. You need to forgive yourself more than anyone else. This is more than just about him, it's about you too. Once you're able to forgive yourself, you'll be able to forgive him as well." The blue-haired kunoichi said as she continued to soothe Katara and as Akira realized that the Uchiha stopped sobbing, she looked down. As Akira had a small smile on her lips, she was content in seeing that the Uchiha fell asleep in her arms.

* * *

Before the sun broke through the sky-blue horizon, all four members of the platoon were up and ready to travel the rest of the way towards the Fire Country's borders.

As Katara waited patiently for her team members to clean up camp, she was leaning against a tree, thinking about what Akira had told her last night. _"This is more than just about him, it's about you too. Once you're able to forgive yourself, you'll be able to forgive him as well." _**'I have no idea what to think right now.' thought Katara **as she watched the sun rise.

'**There's nothing to think about, Katara. In order for you to move on, you just need him gone.' The demon dragon answered as Katara felt her demon smirk at her. **

'**There's a lot to think about.' Replied the Uchiha heiress back as she stared right into Hikari's icy-blue eyes. **

'**You even said it yourself, you wanted revenge. I'm just pushing you the right way that you want to go.' Said Hikari as she circled around the Uchiha. **

'**I did say that… but now, I'm not sure if I even meant it. 'Katara said aloud in her mind, showing a hint of doubt. **

'**After all he's done you to, you're just going to let it go?! He's the one that caused you this pain… and as long as he lives, you will suffer. So are you not going to do anything about it?!' ****yelled the silver dragon as the demon looked directly into her container's eyes. **

**As Katara stared back at the dragon, Hikari saw that deep within, the Uchiha heiress was still confused and as the dragon circled around Katara's form again, she stood directly in front of the kunoichi, waiting for an answer. **

'**I-I don't know… I need time to think about this.' Answered Katara as she looked back at her demon. **

'**Hn….You're going have to learn someday, kiddo. I just wish you would just let me out of here. It gets pretty boring when you're stuck in here. Until then, I'll leave you alone for now.' ****The demon said as she slowly disappeared from the Uchiha's mind. **

**

* * *

**

"KATARA! UCHIHA KATARA!" the angry Hyuuga yelled as she waved her arms up to show how frustrated she was with the Uchiha. As Katara's mind came back to reality, she was a bit frightened by how angry her teammate was.

As Koji saw that Katara was back to reality, he quickly held back their Hyuuga teammate and clamped his hand her mouth as he said, "Kay, it's time to go."

Looking back and forth between Keiko and Koji, Katara gave all three shinobi in front of her a nod in order to signal that they were leaving. As Katara leapt up into the trees, the three leaf nin followed closely behind their leader.

All four members of the platoon were now jumping from the trees, side to side from the other, and as they continued their pace, Katara decided to speed it up a little. Looking at all her teammates, she quickly signaled for them to increase their speed a bit in order to make up for lost time.

* * *

After about three hours of traveling, all four members of the platoon were currently taking a short break before they would continue all the way into enemy territory. At the moment, they were in a safe clearing and were gathering up on water and food for energy.

As all four shinobi sat down on the ground, enjoying their lunch, the Uchiha quickly got onto her feet and faced her comrades. "Alright you guys… as you know, we're only a about a few kilometers from enemy territory. From this point on, you need to be ready for anything. Keep on high alert. You'll need these for communication." The Uchiha said as she threw headset at them.

As all three shinobi received them, they quickly put them on and waited for Katara to continue. "We'll be able to communicate with these. Now, our target is to destroy the Hidden Cloud's main base. From there, we'll have to defeat the rest of the remaining shinobi. Don't lose sight of the target."

"Hai!" all three shinobi answered as they stood up and stood beside the Uchiha. "And one more thing you guys, I know we can do this. Remember all we need is teamwork." Katara said as she put her hand forward.

"You got that right!" the Hyuuga replied as she too put her hand on top of the Uchiha's.

"Of course!" exclaimed an excited Akira as she put her hand in the group. All three leaf kunoichi looked towards their male teammate and saw that he too was excited and as he gave in to their antics, they knew he enjoyed it as well.

"Alright, alright…let's do this!" the black-haired male said as he smirked and put his hand on top.

As all four leaf shinobi put their hands together, they all gave each other a smile and as they lifted their arms up into the air; they were ready to move out and enter the Hidden Cloud Village's territory.

* * *

**This wasn't a chapter that was action packed, but I believe that in the next few chapters, you guys might get to see some action!. So stay tuned! **

**Oh, and make sure to review! :) **

**-Katara**


	17. Chapter 14: Leaf vs Cloud

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And sorry that I haven't bee updating lately; I've just been so busy, but now I've found time to update, **

**so enjoy! **

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Chapter 14: Leaf vs. Cloud

"_And one more thing you guys, I know we can do this. Remember all we need is teamwork." Katara said as she put her hand forward. _

"_You got that right!" the Hyuuga replied as she too put her hand on top of the Uchiha's. _

"_Of course!" exclaimed an excited Akira as she put her hand in the group. All three leaf kunoichi looked towards their male teammate and saw that he too was excited and as he gave into their antics, they knew he enjoyed it as well. _

"_Alright, alright…let's do this!" the black-haired male said as he smirked and put his hand on top. _

_As all four leaf shinobi put their hands together, they all gave each other a smile and as they lifted their arms up into the air; they were ready to move out and enter the Hidden Cloud Village's territory. _

* * *

All the members of the platoon had just entered into enemy territory. As they entered, Katara felt everyone tense up a bit, and as she let her nerves get to her too, she had to calm herself down. Knowing that her comrades would look to her for comfort, the Uchiha quietly whispered, "Calm down. You can't let your nerves get to you. Just relax… Keiko, can you do a scan around the area?"

The Hyuuga turned her white orbs towards the Uchiha and with a nod, Keiko turned on her Byakugan. As Keiko concentrated, she quickly took a look around the whole area; with her bloodline still on, Keiko replied with, "There seems to be no one near us." As she turned her Byakugan off.

"Thank you, Keiko. As for now, don't let your guard down." Said the Uchiha as the platoon continued on.

* * *

After entering deeply into the Hidden Cloud's territory, all four shinobi realized how foggy the area was starting to get and as the Uchiha stopped in her tracks, her team also stopped as they looked around the area.

"This fog…it's getting way too thick. Akira, do you think you could get rid of it?" questioned the Uchiha as she looked back at her blue-haired friend.

"Of course…" Akira replied as she closed her light-blue eyes and concentrated chakra into her hands. As she finished making the required seals, Akira quickly opened her eyes and revealed two palms with enveloped chakra around them. As the blue-haired kunoichi moved her hands about in the air, all three nin watched as her chakra managed to absorb the moisture from the air, causing the fog to disappear.

As it was a little bit easier for everyone to see, Katara signaled the blue-eyed kunoichi to stop her actions. As Keiko, Koji, and Akira, watched the Uchiha close her eyes and concentrate on something, they too, felt the enemy's presence.

With her eyes closed, the Uchiha heiress focused on her sense of hearing and as soon as she heard a kunai break through the air, she took one out of her holster. As she quickly opened her eyes, Katara cancelled out the projectile and returned to the side of her teammates. All four leaf nin were facing back to back to each other, waiting for the enemy to strike again.

As everyone waited for another strike, the Hyuuga quickly turned on her Byakugan, while the Takahashi turned on his Amarasugan as his eyes turned a green color. Seeing that she herself couldn't see, Katara quickly turned on her Sharingan in hope that she would be able to detect the enemy's attacks a lot earlier. The Uchiha heiress knew that Akira was blind at the moment, since she knew the kunoichi didn't have an eye bloodline limit.

Once realizing this, Katara turned towards her friend with concerned eyes and was about to say something to the blue-haired girl as she was interrupted. "You don't think I can't see do you, Katara?" quietly asked Akira. "Kay, I'm fine. I can feel the change in moisture in the air. The water in the air tells me where the enemy is and if they're going to attack. I'll be fine."

Katara quickly nodded towards her teammate and as she turned back to look ahead, her heart was set at rest knowing that Akira could somehow see through the fog.

Keiko suddenly jumped in front of the Uchiha as a blow was about to hit her. As the Hyuuga hit the enemy nin with a quick palm movement to the heart, the Cloud nin dropped down dead. Everyone on the team was on high alert now and as they prepared for more enemies to come out, Keiko suddenly said, "Look out you guys, there's a lot more hidden in the bushes. Just be careful."

Suddenly a massive amount of kunai and shuriken were thrown and were heading towards their way. As Keiko analyzed them, she quickly yelled, "Stay behind me," as she summoned up enough chakra to send out from her tenketsu points in order to perform the Eight Divinaton: heavenly spin. The Hyuuga's chakra formed into a large, defensive sphere that managed to protect everyone from the weapons.

As the Hyuuga's defense died down, the remaining three shinobi jumped into action. Disappearing from their sight, the Uchiha quickly used her speed to her advantage. Once they were all given the exact location where each person was from Keiko, all three had made their moves. They had all spilt; Koji to the right, Akira to the left, and Katara to the north, while the Hyuuga would stay back as the distraction.

Once Katara got track of a few enemy nin near her location, she quickly took out a kunai knife and quickly moved her feet. As the five enemy nin saw the leaf kunoichi approach them, they were too slow as that as soon as the Uchiha reached them, they barely had time to even whisper before she slit their throats.

* * *

The Takahashi had made his way to the right in order to intercept the enemy. Hearing the Hyuuga tell him that he was nearing his opponents, Koji suddenly saw their chakra signatures a few meters away from him. Concealing his own chakra, the black-haired shinobi quickly spread out paper bombs in the area near the cloud nin.

As he looked at them even more, he saw that they were all too busy keeping up with Keiko, and with that, Koji quickly made the seals for Fire Style: Flaming Ember; as he quickly finished up with the handsigns, he quickly held his breathe and allowed the fire to pass through his mouth at a fast rate as they hit the enemies on contact.

As the fire hit the nin, the attack also set off the paper bombs. As bomb after bomb exploded, Koji quickly got out of the area. From where the explosion came from, the Takahashi knew that the rest of the enemy's comrades would head towards the area. And that's where he would wait for them.

* * *

The blue-haired girl quickly made her way towards her assigned territory. As she felt the moisture in the air change direction, she suddenly turned around and managed to block an oncoming kick. Akira squinted her eyes and saw that the man she was fighting against was a big, burly man with a huge sword. As she observed her opponent with her light-blue eyes, she quickly called upon the moisture in the air, and managed to form a sharp spear. As she charged at her opponent head on, he was ready, but was quite shocked when he saw her disappear.

The man only saw a couple of droplets from a puddle of water slowly fall down, but as he felt a presence behind him, it was too late, as he felt the ice-like spear strike through his body from behind him.

As Akira managed to defeat her opponent, she quickly got into another stance to prepare for the others who she would be facing against.

* * *

After a few more minutes, the Hyuuga managed to defeat her opponents with her gentle fist. As Keiko quickly scanned the area for anymore enemies near her, she settled down a bit and lowered her heart rate as she calmed down. With her Byakugan, she could see that everyone else on her squad was still standing and as she stood there waiting for her teammates, she quickly heard a bloodcurdling scream and headed towards that direction.

* * *

Uchiha Katara stood among the bodies that had fallen towards the ground. With her kunai covered in blood, the same intensity she had shown during her sneak attack was still evident in her crimson eyes. As the Uchiha closed her eyes and rested, she returned her eyes back to its navy color and picked up the rest of her shuriken and kunai.

As she bent down to clean up her mess, she quickly froze in place as she heard a scream. The Uchiha heiress quickly dropped the weapons and as she followed the chakra signature of the person who was screaming, panic passed throughout her body as she realized who it was.

'**I have to get there as quick as possible.' Thought Katara** as she pushed as much chakra in her feet that would allow her to rush towards her comrade.

* * *

'**Looks like I'm done here.' The black-haired male thought **as he checked to make sure the Cloud nin were lifeless. But as he got back onto his feet, he quickly heard a scream and as the Takahashi saw the familiar chakra network of his teammate, he quickly made his way towards her.

* * *

'**I hope she's alright.' All three Team 7 members thought **as they all were running towards the diection of Akira's scream.

As the Uchiha was running towards the area as quick as possible, she felt two very familiar presences beside her. Turning her heard from left to right, she saw that Keiko and Koji had joined her as all three members made it to the area of the blue-haired teammate.

They all looked directly in front of them; as they watched a group of Cloud nin, they saw that they had their teammate all tied up and as they were about ot carry her away, Katara's voice broke through the fog. "Hey! Get back here! There's no way you're leaving with her!" the Uchiha had said as she took out a kunai from her holster and jumped up to slash the Cloud nin directly in the arm.

Realizing that it was a clone once the body disappeared, Katara knew she should've turned on her sharingan, but as she felt a presence behind her, she turned around just in time to earn a punch in the face. Her body quickly fell to the floor and as her teammates watched her fall from the sky, Koji made it just in time to catch her.

"Are you alright, Katara?" questioned the Hyuuga as she looked at her teammate with concern.

"I'm fine," the Uchiha answered as she wiped the blood away that was dripping from her mouth. "W-w-where's Akira?" questioned Katara as she looked up at her teammates' eyes and knew the answer right away.

Katara quickly got out of Koji's arm and as she knelled down in frustration, she quickly slammed her fists onto the ground, creating a shake within the earth. "Damn it! I should've been more careful!" Katara cried out in frustration.

"Listen, Kay, we can get her back. They aren't far from here." The Hyuuga said as she tried to calm down her teammate.

"No, Keiko… we will get her back." The Uchiha answered as she looked back her teammates with new found determination in her Sharingan eyes as she got up from the ground.

"Well, then, we better start moving." Stated Koji as he gave both his teammates a smirk.

"Right, let's go!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as all three members of Team 7 headed out.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review! Those reviews will make me want to update earlier, despite me being busy. :) **


	18. Chapter 15: Overcoming Despair

**This chapter was extremely long, but I enjoyed writing it! I definitely enjoyed the action scenes the most since I spent a lot of time thinking through all the scenarios! I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter and please, I'd love to hear what you guys think of it! Thanks! **

**Now, please enjoy this new chapter of _Legend in the Making! _**

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**Chapter 15: Overcoming Despair**

All three members of Team 7 were quickly making their way towards the location of the Cloud shinobi. As they pushed more chakra in their feet to increase their speed, they passed swiftly through the trees towards hard, solid ground.

They stopped to a halt, and as the Uchiha turned towards her Hyuuga teammate, she asked, "Keiko, where are they headed?"

The Hyuuga quickly activiated her bloodline limit and as she looked several meters in front of her, she answered, "They're heading towards a base in the northwest. At this rate, we'll have to handle a lot more shinobi than we've expected."

"Alright… can you look ahead and see how many are guarding the outside and how many are in the inside?" asked Katara.

With a nod of her head, the Hyuuga scanned the area ahead of them; within seconds, she stated, "There's approximately 7 guards on each side of the base. Inside, it seems to be more heavily guarded; there's at least about forty more shinobi in there. With these odds, everything seems to go against our own odds. What should we do, Katara?" the Hyuuga asked as she turned towards her teammate.

Katara remained quiet in her spot as she tried to think over what type of situation they would get themselves into if they actually stepped in that base. After a few more moments of silence, the Uchiha heiress replied, "We should still rescue her… she's a comrade, and we can't let her down."

_Flashback: _

_All three members of Team 7 were currently waiting for their sensei as usual; they've all accepted the fact that Kakashi would always show up late, so like any other day, they've grown tired of complaining and just started to be patient with him. But today was just too unbearable to actually wait for him; he had told them to meet up at their regular spot at 5 in the morning, yet he was already 4 hours late. _

_As the Hyuuga grew impatient as time passed, she turned towards her comrades and said, "You guys, Kakashi sensei is way too late; something happened." Keiko had said as she looked at both of them with her white eyes. _

_"You're right, Keiko. We should probably go find him." stated Koji as he got up onto his feet from his seating position. _

_"Yeah, let's go." said Katara as she and the Hyuuga got up and followed their male friend. _

* * *

__

Looking around the whole village took at least an hour for all three of them. As they all came back to meet at their meeting point, all three members were unsuccessful. And as they all took a break and sat down to eat some dango, they were about ready to give up.

"Wait! Katara, Koji! I spotted him!" exclaimed Keiko as she abruptly stood up from her seat.

"Really?! Where?!" the Uchiha exclaimedin return as she and Koji got up as well.

"He's at the memorial stone. It looks like he's been there for awhile." said Keiko as she and her friends ran towards their destination.

* * *

_"Hey! Kakashi-sensei! Where have you been?!" exclaimed Katara as she, Keiko, and Koji approached their sensei. But at that moment, they realized that the atmosphere changed as they noticed their teacher was in a somber mood as he looked at the memorial stone. _

_"Sensei, are you alright?" questioned the male member as all three team members stood by his side. They saw that the silver-haired jounin had his hands in his pockets and was just staring at the stone, as if he was remembering a past memory. _

_"I've just been thinking about something...." their sensei replied as he turned towards them. _

_"What have you been thinking about sensei?" questioned the Hyuuga as she looked up to him._

_Kakashi turned towards his three students and as he looked at all three of them, he replied, "Just some past memories; I've learned a lot of things throughout my shinobi career." _

_"Really? Like what?" asked the Uchiha as she looked at him. _

_As their sensei took his hands out of his pocket, he answered with, "Just some very important lessons that I'd like to pass down to you guys; I just want you guys to know that you should never abandon your comrades." He had said as he looked at them with concerned eyes. Within her own mind, Katara knew that there was more too it than that and as she was about to voice her opinion, her sensei said, "Koji, Keiko, can you guys leave? I need to talk to Katara alone." _

_As the Hyuuga was going to say something about him being late, Koji quickly jumped in and said, "All right, sensei. We'll just go get some lunch." _

_With a nod from their sensei, both Team 7 members left the area. As the Uchiha heiress stood their in her spot, she looked up at her sensei with her navy orbs and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, what did you want to talk to me about?" _

_"Here, let's sit down." replied the Jounin as he sat down on the grass. As his student sat beside him, he turned towards her and began to talk. "Katara, the reason why I wanted to talk to you has to due with Obito." the silver-haired shinobi stopped there as he watched a hint of sadness pass Katara's eyes, but he continued with, "It's something that you never were told about that day that we had that mission. You did know that he died, but I have to admit that it was partly my fault. At that moment in my life, I didn't care about what would happen to my comrades; I always followed the ninja rules, but on that specific day, I want you to know that your cousin Obito taught me a valuable lesson: that you should never abandon your comrades; those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum." _

_The Uchiha heiress waited for him to finish and as he did, she replied with, "How did he teach you that, sensei?" _

_With a heavy sigh, Kakashi answered with, "My teammate, Rin, was captured and I was willing to just leave her behind and not go after her. But your cousin, Obito, he was the bigger person and was determined to rescue her. We did manage to save her, but as you know, Obito gave up his life to save us both." _

_As the Uchiha looked at him with sadness evident in her eyes, she said, "I see. Well, I'm glad that you told me that." She said as she suddenly stood up. With as shocked look on his face, her sensei remained seated and watched as he waited for her to explain herself. "I'm glad that my cousin was such an amazing shinobi and now, Kakashi-sensei, you've taught my something from him. Now i know that I'll always protect my comrades and I promise you that i won't ever abandon them!"_

_End!_

"Alright then, what's the plan?" asked their male team member as he and Keiko turned back to their team leader with determined eyes.

With a small smile, the Uchiha heiress crouched down low and carefully showed her teammates the plan. "Alright, listen carefully…"

* * *

After discussing the plan for their rescue mission, Team 7 decided to quickly make their move. As they were about a few meters off from the actual Cloud base, they quickly took cover behind some trees. Once concealed, the Uchiha gave the signal, and they all spilt up into different locations with Katara by herself, while her two teammates would stick together.

As Katara moved throughout the area, she quickly communicated with her teammates through their headsets. "Keiko, Koji… you guys know what to do. Once you're done with your job, we can meet up. Good luck to both of you!"

"Hai, good luck to you too, Katara!" both Keiko and Koji said as they talked through their own headsets.

And with that, the Uchiha continued on with her track to get closer to the base. Within a few seconds, Katara was not far from the base and as she was close enough to see the huge building, she hid her chakra signature as she began to spy at them from a nearby bush.

'**From the looks of it, they look pretty tough. Most of these shinobi are at least Chuunin and some even Jounin leveled.' Thought Katara as **she continued to watch them. **'Well, hopefully Koji and Keiko are on their way following the plan.' **

* * *

Both Keiko and Koji were making there way towards the base but from a different direction. Knowing that the plan basically needed their job to be complete before moving onto the next step, they both decided to jump into it quickly. As they both hid in nearby bushes, they both knelt down and prepared for what would happen next.

As the Hyuuga used her bloodline limit to check for any oncoming shinobi that would be near their location, she quickly spotted something and said, "Koji, there's two Cloud nin heading our way, it's your turn now." The Hyuuga had said as she closed her eyes and allowed them to turn back to normal.

"Right…" the black-haired male said as he turned on his Amarasugan and put his hands out in front of him in a triangular formation. As he continued to concentrate chakra into his palms, he pointed it directly at the two oncoming shinobi and performed one of his clan's famous techniques: Soul Invasion Jutsu. As the Takahashi managed to take control of both the Cloud ninja, both bodies stood there frozen. There was a short, chubby man that was bald along with a taller man with a beard that stood before the two. As Koji continued to hold his seal, he stood up and used his bloodline to command the nin to return back to their posts.

As the Takahashi came back and united with his teammate, the Hyuuga looked at him with a weird expression as both her eyebrows were raised.

"What, Keiko?" asked Koji as he too rose one of his eyebrows with confusion.

"That was a little freaky… are you sure that this will work?" questioned the Hyuuga.

"Yeah, I guarantee it… they won't show any signs that part of their soul is being controlled by me; not until I give them the signal at least. So it's safe to just approach the base. From what I could tell, those two were high-level jounin. Now, let's go.." Koji explained as he smirked and calmly walked out from their hiding spot. The Hyuuga watched as he slowly got up, and with a bit of hesitation holding her back, Keiko slowly got up and followed her male team member.

* * *

From the same hiding spot, the Uchiha waited patiently as she lyed down on the forest floor, with a kunai in hand, waiting for her teammates to make their move. From her location, she saw that they both were slowly approaching the base. She saw that right away, the Cloud nin were suspicious about them, and as they came to approach Keiko and Koji, from her hiding spot, she saw the Takahashi look at her and nodded as he gave her the signal to move.

'**Alright… it looks like this plan is turning out great.' Thought the Uchiha as she swiftly left her position.**

* * *

As both the Takahashi and Hyuuga approached two guards that stood in front of the Cloud Village's base, they were quickly spotted just like they had expected.

"You two! What are you doing here? You're from the Hidden Leaf, aren't you?...I'm sorry but you're in a restricted area and I have to ask you to leave." An older looking man with a patch over his eye exclaimed as he took out a kunai.

"Jiriko, call for back up… these kids are up to something." The eye-patch man said as he turned towards his comrade. With a nod, a younger dark-blue haired male left the area and disappeared inside the base.

Within a few moments, Keiko and Koji saw that they were surrounded by at least 15 Cloud shinobi. Knowing that the odds weren't going for them, all the Cloud shinobi smirked as they all took out some more weapons.

As both leaf nin glared at all their opponents, they saw that the eye-patch man had stepped forward and had said, "You kids have trespassed through our area, and I think we should give you a parting gift," the man said as he was about to order his men to attack.

Both leaf nin smirked at his statement and as the man showed a bit of confusion on his face, Koji quickly activated his technique, and right away, the two familiar Cloud shinobi stood back to back towards them, with kunai out in front.

"Daichi, Eito…what are you two doing?" questioned their leader as he was shocked at their betrayal.

"Hn.. I'm afraid they're not the same people you once knew." Koji said as he and Keiko took out kunai knives.

"Very well then, that doesn't change the fact that we need to take you two down. Men, do whatever is necessary to get rid of them." The eye-patched man said as he ordered his men to attack.

Within moments, Keiko, Koji, along with the two possessed Cloud nin jumped into action as well. With both their kekkei genkai on, they both rushed towards their opponents and immediately were the ones who gave the first hit.

* * *

'**Hopefully Koji and Keiko are fine…now I just need to find the shortest path towards where they're holding Akira.' Thought the Uchiha **as she swiftly made her way through the hallways of the Hidden Cloud Village base. As she continued with her smooth pace throughout the building, Katara skidded to a stop and made a left turn towards a dead end. As the Uchiha heiress continued to look around her surroundings, she saw that the only way through would have to be retracing her steps. The Uchiha was just about to start up again and move towards another route, that was until her ears picked up several pairs of footsteps closing in.

As Katara's navy orbs showed a bit of worry and panic in her eyes, she quickly was able to calm down and detect how many people were headed her way; without a second thought, the Uchiha swiftly attached herslf to the ceiling with pure chakra control and as the Cloud nin were a few feet under her, she continued to hold her breathe while they continued to talk.

"Ichiro, there seems to be a ruckus outside. Is there any news from Kaito?" questioned a red-haired kunoichi as she asked her male comrade.

"Hayase, from what I heard, those two from the leaf are giving the guards outside some trouble, but we've been ordered to stay inside and guard the base at any cost. You know how Kaito is; ever since he's gotten that patch on his eye, he thinks he deserves respect. Kaito thinks there's something going on here. At the least, those two are probably after their blue-haired teammate, so we just need to be on high alert." Answered the purple-haired male as he explained the situation in a stern manner.

"Understood." Replied Hayase as the Cloud kunoichi and her comrade continued down the other part of the hallway.

'**Whew…that was close.' Thought the Uchiha **as a bead of sweat dropped from her forehead and directly to the ground.

Seeing as the hallway was clear, the Uchiha made her way down towards the ground and onto her feet, but as she landed, she had realized that she had made the biggest mistake. As she looked ahead of her, the Uchiha saw the exact same Cloud nin that were below her, staring directly at her. **'You're kidding me, right?' questioned Katara in her mind as she knew she was caught.**

"An intruder?!" exclaimed the Cloud kunoichi as she and her male teammate both took out kunai.

"You're one of those leaf brats…..alright then, you have five seconds to get out of here, before we take action." Threatened the purple-haired male as he glared menacingly at the Uchiha.

With a glare of her own, Katara quickly turned on her Sharingan and retorted back with, "I don't think so….I'm not going anywhere without my teammate." She had said as she looked them both directly in the eyes and used her bloodline against them.

As her genjutsu took affect, the Uchiha heiress jumped into action and knocked them both unconscious. As she lifted their bodies and dragged them towards the dead end, she quickly softly laid them down and quickly performed some hand signs for a camoflaugeing technique. As she finished up with her work there, she quickly got back up on her feet and closed her eyes. Once she was able to concentrate on the whole building, she was rapidly able to identify her blue-haired friend's chakra signature and with that being done, she quickly decided to make a right turn and head towards that general direction.

* * *

The Takahashi and Hyuuga had been fighting for quite some time now; and as they stood side by side, with their two possessed Cloud shinobi, they both breathed heavily as they managed to take down most of their opponents. With just about ten more shinobi to fight off, they took in another breathe of air, and decided to jump into the fight again.

The black-haired leaf nin quickly ran through about a group of five Cloud ninja and as he passed right through them, with a kunai in hand, Koji had managed to slice all their throats in one single go. As he stood beside their bodies, he bent down, and took a huge breathe after the long fight he and his teammate had to go through. After all, controlling those two Cloud nin took a lot of chakra from him as well, and as he stood there trying to get his heartbeat back to normal, he turned his jutsu off the two shinobi, and left them unconscious in the ground. As he turned his head up, he watched his female teammate finish off the other five shinobi with her gentle fist in a very quick manner. From his eyes, Koji could see that the Hyuuga was as tired as himself and as they both stood there in the field across from the other, the managed to somehow gather enough energy left inside to go and meet up with the Uchiha.

"We have to get going, Keiko..Katara will be waiting for us." Stated the Takahashi as he turned towards the Hyuuga.

"Right…..well she's passing through the eastern hallway right now, and she's approaching the place they're keeping Akira. So, let's go." Keiko replied as she and her teammate had a sudden burst of chakra inside them and headed towards the building to unite with their friend.

* * *

'**I'm almost there.' Thought Katara **as she continued her smooth pace through the eastern hallway. As she made her way towards a wooden door, Katara silently pressed her body against the wall, and tok a deep breathe. Making sure to check that no one else was near her, the Uchiha heiress sent her chakra throughout the whole building to check for any surviving Cloud nin. Seeing that most of them were taken out by her two teammates, she quickly then sensed two chakra presences behind the door. Recollecting her own chakra, Katara had felt that the two guarding Akria were probably the two strongest members in this base along with sensing that her teammates were on their way.

Opening her navy orbs, the young Uchiha took another deep breathe, concealed her chakra, and stood directly in front of the door. Checking for any other entrances into the room, the Uchiha heiress had found none, therefore, the only choice was to just go through the door. Once more Katara closed her eyes and as she concentrated her chakra into the handsigns, she quickly bent her body back, and as she opened her mouth, a blue fireball came out, destroying the door.

As the flames disappeared in a dark blue smoke, Katara entered into the room, meeting up with two shocked Cloud ninja as they stared at her with their piercing eyes. Observing the whole room, Katara saw that the space was quite cramped along with seeing her teammate tied around a large wooden pole near the corner of the room. Katara saw Akira's light-blue, pleading eyes, and seeing her teammate in such a worried state, the Uchiha knew at that moment, she needed to buy enough time for her teammates to come and take the blue-haired kunoichi away from the area. Seeing that a blonde-haired Cloud shinobi was guarding Akira, the Uchiha heiress turned her attention to the ninja that had just stepped forward. Turning her head towards the kunoichi, Katara's navy orbs met up with deep red eyes of the black-haired female, and as the Uchiha silently watched her enemy, she saw the kunoichi take out a kunai.

Without any hesitation, Katara also copied her opponent's movement, and as both females glared at each other, they met in the middle of the room for battle. Noticing that the leaf kunoichi in front of her was much younger than herself, the Cloud Jounin smirked with confidence estimating that the battle wouldn't last long. As the black-haired female laid her arm on her hip, she turned towards her blonde-haired teammate, and said, "Shiro, you stay there and guard the girl, I can handle this one."

The blonde-haired Cloud nin responded back with a nod towards his brunette teammate and replied with, "Alright, Tora, just don't underestimate her." Shiro had said as the Uchiha felt his gaze intently focus on her.

Turning her attention back to her opponent, the black-haired kunoichi, took another look at Katara before charging at her at a fast speed. Not realizing how fast her enemy would approach her, the Uchiha heiress had no choice but to try to dodge and protect herself from Tora's blows. Just as a tiger would move at such a fast rate, Katara realized that her speed was also fast; it nearly matched the Uchiha's fastest rate as well. As slash after slash was made onto the Uchiha's body, all she could do was take hit after hit, as the kunai caused part of her clothes to become shredded, along with some scratches on her own body.

As her blood fell to the ground, Katara realized that her eyes were closed, and as she opened her navy orbs, she met up with a powerful punch to the gut as the Cloud kunoichi made a direct hit. The force from the blow caused Katara's body to be blown back and hit the opposing wall of the room. Her body had fallen to the ground and as the Uchiha heiress rushed to heal her gut, she looked up in horror as the Cloud ninja had arrived to stand in front of her at such a fast rate. Both pairs of eyes looked at each other, and as the Uchiha held tightly onto her side, she looked directly into the brunette's red orbs and saw an intense look of bloodthirst.

Tora had quickly knelt down to the Uchiha's eye level and as she picked up the leaf kunoichi by her shirt collar she glared menacingly at the girl. "Hn…this sure wasn't a fight kid. I guess leaf shinobi are just chumps. Any last words, kid?"

As Katara had continued to struggle against the Cloud kunoichi's grasp, it only caused her to show pleasure as she watched the Uchiha squirm. Hearing the Cloud kunoichi talk badly about her, only made Katara want to prove her wrong, but as she was held up in mid-air, she felt her energy slowly get sucked away as she realized that Tora was absorbing her chakra. As the Uchiha heiress felt herself get weaker and weaker, she was slowly losing strength; she was trying her hardest to stay awake and to be focused on her goal, and as her eyes teared away from the Cloud kunoichi's gaze, Katara decided to activate her bloodline at that moment. As crimson eyes met red, the Cloud kunoichi showed an expression of shock as she saw the rare bloodline, but after a few moments, she smirked.

"Looks like you're an Uchiha, huh? Who would've known.. I think Kaito will be happy to hear that we have one of the most powerful Hidden Leaf Village's bloodlines in our grasp." Tora stated as she looked at the young Uchiha. "Perhaps you will be useful afterall." The black-haired kunoichi said as she threw the Uchiha heiress towards the wall. As her back collided against the solid surface, Katara slowly felt her body fall towards the ground. As her face met up with the ground, she tried her hardest to get up, but once she realized that most of her chakra was gone, it only made it harder to get up and fight again. Still having her Sharingan activated, Katara turned her face towards her blue-haired teammate; seeing Akira in such a weakened state only made the Uchiha more willing to continue on, and to everyone's shock in the room, the Uchiha slowly and shakingly got up on both her feet, and stood in front of her opponent.

"D-don't count me out! I-I-I'm not done here!" exclaimed the Uchiha as she held out both fists towards Tora, who was expressing a surprised look.

Concealing her expression in a quick manner, the Cloud kunoichi looked at the Uchiha in annoyance and said, "Kid, you have no clue how to quit, do you? Very well then, I'll finish you off quickly and move on." Tora had said as she took out another kunai along with a couple shuriken. As the shuriken were thrown at Katara, she realized that she felt a bit sluggish, but still managed to narrowly avoid each projectile. As the barrage of weapons finished up, the Cloud kunoichi decided to attack with more lightning based techniques.

As the Uchiha stood there, she gave a deep breath as beads of sweat dropped from her forehead. Seeing that her opponent was tiring down, Tora felt that she had already won the battle. Taking another look at her enemy, the black-haired kunoichi finished with her seals, and as a lightning-based weapon began to form before the Uchiha's very eyes, she saw Tora's pure chakra. In front ofher form, the Cloud kunoichi held before her a bow and arrow, made purely of lightning, and as she held the chakra-filled weapon directly at the Uchiha, Katara knew that she had to think quickly. Rapidly closing her navy eyes, Katara stood still in a calm position as she was coming up with the best possible way to evade the attack.

Tora slowly pulled back the arrow in her hands, and as she pointed it directly at the Uchiha, she quickly let go. As the projectile moved throughout the air, the sounds of the waves of lightning could be heard, and as the attack closed in, the Uchiha quickly opened her eyes, leaned forward, as if ready to take the attack full force.

* * *

Akira watched with widened, light-blue eyes as she saw the lightning-based technique quickly move towards her friend. In a last attempt to try to break free from her restraints, the blue-haired kunoichi tried with all her strength as she struggled to break free. Seeing the leaf kunoichi trying once again, the blonde-haired shinobi tightened the restraints, and as a result, the Kobayashi stopped her struggle as she realized it was hopeless. As she was about to look away from the scene, Akira saw the Uchiha's eyes open, showing a hint of hidden condfidence behind them, and as the attack was about ot hit, the leaf kunoichi turned away, not wanting to look.

* * *

As Katara felt the lightning arrow come closer and closer at an accelerated rate, the Uchiha calmed her body down, and decided to focus on shaping her chakra. With one more quick glance at her teammate, Katara saw Akira turn her face away, and as the Uchiha's crimson eyes observed the attack, she was prepared in mere milliseconds. As the lightning-based attack came as close as it could possible before it would hit the Uchiha heiress, Katara quickly took out a smoke bomb and threw it towards the ground.

The black smoke began to form around the Uchiha at a quick rate and as the arrow began to pierce through the smoke, the Cloud kunoichi was smirking with confidence as she saw her arrow go thorugh the smoke and directly destroy the opposing wall.

As the smoke still was in the air, Tora started to move closer towards her opponent, as she exclaimed, "Guess you weren't as strong as I thought you were." She had said with a smirk and an arm on her hip.

But as the smoke was about to disappear, the Cloud kunoichi widened her red eyes in shock as a blue, lightning-based arrow came out from the smoke. Because the arrow was approaching the kunoichi at a fast rate, Tora had no time to evade or to protect herself from the attack, and had hit the attack at full force.

The lightning arrow hit directly through the Cloud kunoichi's own chest and as her body hit the opposing wall behind her, the smoke had finally disappeared, and showed an uninjured Uchiha. As she stood there panting and taking in deep breathes, Katara watched with her crimson orbs as she saw Tora's body smash through the wall. As her Cloud comrade watched from a short distance at what had become of his teammate, he looked at the Uchiha with fear in his eyes. As Katara turned her gaze towards him, she quickly looked away and turned her attention back to the black-haired Cloud kunoichi.

Katara slowly walked towards the rubble of what used to be the wall, and as she approached Tora's broken body, she looked down with her Sharingan as she saw the Cloud kunoichi struggle to try to get up and fight. Seeing his comrade in a bad situation, her teammate, Shiro hurriedly jumped to her side, forgetting about their blue-haired captive. As the blonde-haired shinobi was trying to help his comrade up, Tora chose to ignore his help and decided to do it on her own.

Seeing that Tora suffered a fatal wound, Katara knew that the battle was over. As the Cloud kunoichi laid on her stomach, with her arms propped up to hold herself, she glared intensely at the Uchiha in anger as she asked, "H-how did you evade my attack? There's no way some brat like you could even send that attack back at me, there's no way!" she had exclaimed with coughs in between.

As the Uchiha stood before her opponent with her arms against her sides, she turned her crimson gaze towards the Cloud kunoichi and answered, "To answer your question, I didn't really avoid it, as you can see here." Katara had said as she turned to her side to show a deep cut on her shirt that showed that the arrow had narrowly skimmed against her left side. Some blood was protruding out from the wound, but as the Uchiha put her palm over the wound, it began to heal itself up.

Tora visciously narrowed her eyes and yelled out, "Still! There's no way you could've sent that attack back at me, there's no way. That technique was one that takes several years to perfect and there was just no way you could've shoved it back at me!"

The Uchiha tilted her head as she looked at the Cloud kunoichi with a blank stare, as if now coming back to reality the Uchiha answered back with, "Oh, that…well, for that explanation, that's an easy one…I'd have to thank my bloodline for that one." The Uchiha smiled as she pointed towards her crimson eyes. As the black-haired kunoichi was about to retort, the Uchiha interrupted her with, "You see, the Sharingan has a lot more components to it…to put it simply, my eyes were able to copy your technique and through that, I was able to send it directly back at you. You see, it doesn't matter whatever jutsu you throw at me because my Sharingan can copy it."

As Tora continued to cough out more and more blood from her mouth, she used all her strength to prop herself up on her elbows and replied with, "I see…._cough…_.I-I underestimated you." The Cloud kunoichi had said as she continued with her coughing fit until she couldn't hold herself anymore, and slowly closed her eye lids as her head fell towards the ground with her black hair covering her face.

As Shiro watched his teammate lay in the ground, he gave a death glare towards the Uchiha, and as she got up from his knelt position, he was ready to attack back. As he turned his green-eyes towards Katara's crimson ones, both shinobi turned away from the other as they felt a few new presences come near.

Katara's eyes softened as she saw who had just entered the nearly destroyed room and as her eyes met theirs, she saw that they both had managed to free their blue-haired teammate.

"Hey, Katara! Nice job buying time! Now let's get out of here!" exclaimed her male teammate as he and the Hyuuga waved their hands in the air. Looking back at her team, Katara quickly deactivated her bloodline and headed towards the three as she saw the relieved look on Akira's face.

But as the Uchiha made a small movement to show she was heading back, Shiro swiftly took out a kunai knife and threw it directly at the Uchiha. As Katara stopped in her tracks, she bent a few inches back as she managed to dodge the object. Looking back at the blonde with confusion, the Uchiha also took out a kunai knife getting ready for another battle. But as the Uchiha stood there facing the Cloud nin, she winced in pain as she felt the effects of her wound from the arrow take place. As she clutched onto her side, she managed to let go of her weapon and as she closed her eyes in pain, all three of her teammates quickly rushed towards her. The Uchiha's body slowly fell towards the ground, but just as she was about to collide, Koji managed to catch her before she fell.

Both Keiko and Akira knelt down beside their team leader and all three showed a look of worry in their eyes. And as the pain slowly subsided, the Uchiha met their gazes with her navy orbs and slowly got up. As all three were about to stop her from her action, and help her up, the Uchiha pushed their hands away as she made her way back onto her feet.

Having a feeling that something was about to happen, Katara looked quickly as to where the blonde Cloud nin would be . As she scanned the room, she saw him on the window sill with his female comrade in hand. As Keiko, Koji, and Akira turned their gaze towards the location of where the Uchiha was staring, all four saw the murderious look in his eyes. Before exiting through the window, Shiro had made a handsign and while focusing his chakra, he quickly jumped out from the building. Simultaneaously, small explosions set off from the four main pillars that were holding the building up. All four members of the squad realized that the building would collapse at any moment.

Rubble from the building began to fall from the ceiling and as all four evaded each piece, Keiko, Koji, and Akira, realized that Katara was having a hard time. Katara was struggling as she narrowly dodged every piece of rubble she possibly could. As she continued to hold onto her side, she had to stop to take a breath. All three knew that the Uchiha was having a hard time due to her injury and as all three leaf shinobi were gathered near a safe corner, they watched in horror as a huge piece of debris was going to fall onto their team leader.

Both Keiko and Koji screamed as they watched what was about to happen, knowing that they could do nothing in their current situation. "KATARA!" they both exclaimed as they watched the debris break away from the ceiling as they both seemed to be frozen in place. **'She's not going to make it!' thought the Hyuuga** as her eyes widened in fear.

Akira also stood there as she watched the rubble mere inches away from her friend, and as she quickly stabbed herself in the leg to wake her up from her frozen state, she quickly decided to take action.

(separate)

Hearing her teammates yell out her name, the Uchiha quickly looked above her head, and saw a huge piece of the building falling down towards her. Katara knew that in her current state, that she wouldn't be able to move out in time, and as she put her arms over her head for protection, she waited for the blow.

But as she closed her eyes and got ready for the impact, she felt her body be slowly pushed out of the way by a strong force and fall down towards the ground. Opening her navy orbs she quickly turned towards her savior, but as she watched, she wished she would never have to see such a sight ever again.

In the last second, the blue-haired kunoichi had decided to push her friend out of the way with her own body. And as a result, the Uchiha along with the Hyuuga and Takahashi watched in terror as they saw the chunk of debris fall directly on top of Akira's body.

As All three squad members covered their eyes from the dust of the debris, Katara slowly got up from where she was and quickly ran towards Akira.

"AKIRA!" the Uchiha heiress yelled out as she approached the pile of crumbled up pieces of rubble. As Katara continued to remove piece after piece, Keiko and Koji approached their teammate and pointed towards the direction in the left. As the Uchiha followed her teammates instructions, she swiftly made her way to the left, and as she knelt down, she saw the bottom half of Akira's body covered with the rubble.

Katara slowly fell down onto her knees and as she knelt down to hold onto her friend's hand, she let out tears as she saw what condition the bluette was in. As Keiko and Koji stood beside her as well, all three shinobi let out tears.

As Katara looked back down at Akira, she saw that the girl was still alive. As if time had frozen them in place, the Uchiha continued to cry as she gave the girl a hug. As Akira patted the Uchiha's back, she looked up at the girl with her light-blue eyes and said, "I'm glad you're safe, Katara," in a soft, quiet voice.

"Akira, y-y-you're alive! I can't believe this! Don't worry, we'll get you out of here." The Uchiha said as she looked towards her two teammates to signal to them to start removing the rubble.

As Keiko and Koji were about to start, Akira's hand stopped them as she turned her head towards them and said, "Stop, Keiko, Koji….I'm done here. I can't feel the bottom half of my body." The bluette had said as she turned to see the Uchiha let out more tears.

As the Uchiha shakingly knelt down and let more tears fall she exclaimed, "NO! It's not over, Akira…you will be fine, I promise you! Why, why did you have to take the fall for me?! You could've just let me take the hit!" the Uchiha had said as she slammed her fist onto the ground.

Akira slowly took hold of Katara's hand and as navy met light-blue, the bluette replied with, "Katara, it wasn't your fault. I knew what would happen to me. I took the hit because you have so much to offer. You deserve to live your life. All I have seen from you is your suffering and sadness and someone like you, Katara; you don't deserve that. I got that happiness I wanted in life, but you, you haven't gotten it yet and plus, I'll be fine, don't worry about me." Akira finished as she patted her friend's hand. Smiling back with both her eyes and mouth, the Koybayashi slowly moved her other arm towards her pocket. As the Uchiha observed her friend, she saw the bluette slowly take out a scroll from her pocket and hand it towards the Uchiha.

Katara looked at her with a confused expression, and as Akira gave a small laugh, she said, "That's for you, Kay…you deserve it. In there, there are all the water techniques I've come up with. I'm sure it will come in handy one day." Akira had said as she ended with a smile.

Coming back into reality, Koji broke through their conversation as he urgently said, "Katara, we need to get out of here, now!! This building is going to collapse at any second! Let's go!" the blackhaired male said as he quickly took hold onto the Uchiha's arm. But as Katara shook his hand away, she turned towards both Keiko and Koji and said, "No…you two go."

Widening their eyes, they looked at their friend in shock and as Koji was about to argue back, the Hyuuga jumped in and said, "From my Byakugan, all the remaining Cloud nin had left the building. We need to leave now, Katara! Or we're all going to die!"

As the Uchiha turned to meet their gaze, the Uchiha quickly activated her Sharingan to show how stubborn she would be; "I already told you, I'm not going. You two need to leave! I'll stay back and I'll be fine!"

"You're being ridiculous, Katara!" screamed the Hyuuga as she glared back. And as Koji was also about to yell at their younger teammate, the Uchiha gathered enough chakra in her palms to push both her teammates out through the window.

As Keiko and Koji were recovering from the utter shock of what had just happened, they both realized they were out of the building, and as their bodies were about to hit the ground, they both managed to land back on their feet as they slowly watched tne building fall.

"KATARA! AKIRA!" both leaf nin yelled as they watched the building fully fall on their comrades.

'**There's no way…just no way….Katara can't be gone.' Thought Koji **as he watched his female teammate break down in tears. The Hyuuga had fallen down to her knees and as she cried more and more, her male teammate knelt down to her eye level. Taking her hands away form her face, Koji looked directly into her white eyes and embraced her in a hug. As she accepted the action, Koji tried his best to comfort her.

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After forcefully getting her teammates out of the building, the Uchiha quickly turned towards the bluette and started to remove the rubble from her body. As she put all her energy into moving as fast as possible, the Uchiha managed to move all of it out of the way and as she knelt there with her friend's hand in her grasp, the Uchiha stayed beside her.

As Katara looked down at her friend, she continued to look into Akira's sky-blue eyes as the blue-haired kunoichi turned towards her, Akira softly said, "You need to go, Katara...you can't die here…I'll be fine, don't worry about me. You need to continue on with your mission. Here," the bluette said as she took off headband from her forehead and gave it to her friend, "Now go before the whole building fully collapses!" Akira had said as she was fading in and out. And just about the blue-haired kunoichi's light-blue eyes would close, Katara quickly took hold of the object, and stayed by her friend's side. As Akira's eyes were going to close forever, Katara quietly whispered, "I'm not leaving you here to suffer alone while you're alive."

And as if the bluette had heard her, Akira gave her a small, sincere smile as her body went limp and her eyes closed. Holding onto her friend's hand in hers, Katara knew that Akira would want her to survive this. Not having much chakra left in her system, the Uchiha rapidly called onto all the strength within her body, and as one last resort, she managed to cover them both with a strong, defensive, earth style barrier, as the building collapased.

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As the Hyuuga and Takahashi watched in horror, they believed that both their teammates were dead now. Both stood their in sadness as they stood before the rubble of what used to be a Hidden Cloud Village base.

Both Keiko and Koji shed tears as they stood there and after a few more moments, they had to return back to their calm exterior, as they felt a group of Cloud shinobi slowly surround them. With smirks among their enemies' faces, Keiko and Koji turned and looked both left and right to see that they were surrounded. And as they stood back to back from each other, they both got ready for the fight of their lives.

Keiko swiftly turned on her bloodline, along with Koji, who activated his Amarasugan, as his eyes turned green and glared deathly at the enemy.

As the Takahashi was about to make the first strike, Keiko whispered, "K-Koji….that's i-impossible!" With confusion on his face, Koji didn't realize what was going on as he too, saw all the Cloud nin turn their attention towards somewhere else. He quickly turned his attention towards where everyone else was looking at and saw why Keiko was so shocked.

From the pile of rubble, both Keiko and Koji saw the back of their team leader with the Uchiha emblem held high above all the rubble. They knew it was Katara once they saw the distinct navy color of her along with her clan symbol. With tears in her eyes, the Hyuuga wiped them away as she was happy to see her friend alive. Koji watched Katara in awe as well and as the Uchiha turned her gaze towards her two teammates, they both saw her crimson eyes already being activated. As the Uchiha slowly approached them and softly laid the bluette on the ground, she looked at them with soft eyes and said, "I'll handle this; you two, keep Akira safe." Katara had said as she stepped away from her teammates and stood before the Cloud shinobi.

As the Hyuuga was about to say something, Koji quickly cut her off and said, "Keiko, it's her fight." And as Keiko looked at her male teammate with confusion, she knew not to question him when he used this tone. Seeing the condition that his teammate was in, Koji knew not to question Katara's order. And on the other hand, he also did not miss the new form of Sharingan that Katara managed to activate. And as both the Hyuuga and Takahashi held Akira near them, they watched in the background as they saw their youngest member go into battle.

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As Katara slowly approached the huge group of enemy nin, she was smirking as she looked at all of them with her Sharingan eyes. The Uchiha heiress was anxious to try out her new form of the bloodline and as she glared at each and everyone, she felt as if all her chakra had returned to her. The Uchiha quickly took out a two kunai knives and without any hesitation, she jumped into battle.

Faster than what any human eye could see, she made her way through the crowd of Cloud shinobi one by one, slashing each one with her weapon. At the rate that she was going, one by one, each Cloud shinobi was falling and it only looked like she was a blurr.

As Katara jumped up into the air with both kunai knives held high, to her left, she saw a Cloud shinobi about to strike. With less than a flick of her wrist, she quickly got rid of one of her kunai as she lodged it into the opposing Cloud nin's body. As she began to fall from the sky, with her leg held out in front of her, she managed to swiftly land an axe kick on one of her opponents. The collision of her opponent's body towards the ground caused a huge crater to be formed. And as Katara turned around to continue on with her attacks, her deathly crimson eyes met every pair of eyes. As she all saw fear in each pair, she knew she had the advantage.

Continuing on with her attacks, the Uchiha quickly picked up her same speed again, and jumped into the air. As she rapidly pulled out a scroll from her pocket, she quickly bit her thumb, spread her blood across the scroll, and summoned up as many weapons possible. Still in mid-air, the Uchiha began an aerial assault with her dozen weapons, and one by one, more enemies fell down.

As Katara ended her barrage of weapons, she gracefully landed on both feet as she landed onto the ground. Seeing that there were only a couple of shinobi left, she knew she had to finish this quickly. Even though she knew she had the stamina to carry on, she also knew that if she overexhausted herself, she would be in big trouble. With no choice but to use her Sharingan to end it, she looked directly in the rest of the Cloud shinobi's eyes and caught them in her own genjutsu.

Knowing that the time of her strength would run out, Katara's crimson eyes began to become more strained, as she concentrated all her strength into her final attack. Looking at her opponents with such ferocity, she used Amaratsu; and as black flames began to envelop the group of Cloud shinobi, within a few more moments, she heard loud screams as the black flames approached their bodies; within in few more moments, they all disappeared within the black fire.

Katara slowly fell down onto her kness as she took slow, deep breaths. As she got rid of the black flames, she slowly faded in and out as she fully let her body fall towards the ground. And just as she was about to blackout, all she heard was a group of comrades call out her name as her last thought was, **'Akira….I did it,**' before blacking out.

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**Well, that's all for now! That was about 14 pages! :D Sorry I left it off right here, but I hope to update soon! the Next chapter will be on the aftermath of what has happened hear! **

**Here's a preview: **

The Hyuuga's eyes widened in shock as her Byakugan scanned over her comrade's body, and although she was no medic nin, she knew an injury when she saw one. With a closer inspection, the Hyuuga saw a major infliction on the left side of her friend's body, probably from that lightning based attack from the Cloud Kunoichi. "Koji, this is bad….that injury she purposedly took is internally bleeding, if we don't get her to the hospital quick, she might not make it." Keiko urgently said as she turned towards the boy.

As dark-blue eyes met with white, the Takahashi replied with, "There's no hospital near our current location. We don't even have the speed to return back to the village right now, Keiko. Realistically, we've both run out of chakra and at this rate, I don't even know what we can do now." Koji had said as he clutched his head and fell down in defeat.

**Please make sure to review! **

**I hope some of you guys didn't grow too attached to Akira; I didn't want to grow to attached to her either, but I am sad about what happened. But I was planning on this in the long run because things always happen for a reason and you guys will later understand why I wrote it this way. **


	19. Chapter 16: The Aftermath

**I'm glad that I've finally been able to update again. Hope you guys are getting into the storyline. These few chapters are supposed to be fillers, but I'll soon be able to get into the real plot and see what happens. Things aren't done yet. Remember, I do not own naruto; but I do own my OC's. **

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Chapter 16: The Aftermath

The weather had just turned into a grey, gloomy, and rainy sight as if matching the mood of the day. Gray colored clouds covered the whole sky, covering the bright shine of the sun. Though the weather matched the exact persona of what had happened throughout the day, a small ray of hope managed to break through a thick, gray cloud.

Just as Keiko and Koji had watched the battle between fifty Cloud shinobi versus one leaf kunoichi, they quickly decided to move towards their teammate as they saw Katara's small frame fall to the ground. Taking the lifeless body of Akira in his arms, Koji looked directly into Keiko's white eyes and signaled for them to take action.

Just as both Team 7 members were going to run towards their team leader, the Hyuuga yelled out "Katara!" as both she and Koji ran to her side. Both knelt down and as they turned to see the state of the Uchiha, they both knew that she had to be quickly carried to the hospital.

The Hyuuga's eyes widened in shock as her Byakugan scanned over her comrade's body, and although she was no medic nin, she knew an injury when she saw one. With a closer inspection, the Hyuuga saw a major infliction on the left side of her friend's body, probably from that lightning based attack from the Cloud Kunoichi. "Koji, this is bad….that injury she purposely took is internally bleeding, if we don't get her to the hospital quick, she might not make it." Keiko urgently said as she turned towards the boy.

As dark-blue eyes met with white, the Takahashi replied with, "There's no hospital near our current location. We don't even have the speed to return back to the village right now, Keiko. Realistically, we've both run out of chakra and at this rate; I don't even know what we can do now." Koji had said as he clutched his head and fell down in defeat.

Keiko watched as her only conscious team member was breaking down in front of her eyes, and as she was about to come and comfort him with an embrace, she suddenly stopped and smiled. Touching his shoulder, the Hyuuga managed to gain his attention, and as Koji looked directly at her, the bluish-haired kunoichi said, "Koji…they're here!" Keiko had said as she waved her hands up in the air.

Just as the black-haired boy turned his head to see a rescue team come towards the four of them, Koji felt relieved once he saw the familiar face of the silver-haired jounin along with his dogs and some extra back up medic nin. As their sensei approached them, he said, "Koji, Keiko, we're going to head back to the village. These medic nin will take care of Katara and Akira, let's go."

And with that Kakashi, Koji, and Keiko left from the battle scene in a quick manner, following closely behind the medic nin that had both their friends in their grasps. But both Team 7 members knew that within a few hours, they'd be safely back in the village, and they both hoped that everything would turn out alright.

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**Two days later: **

_In her mind: _

"_Where, where am I?" the black-haired Uchiha asked as she tried to shield herself from a blinding light coming from a door. As she tried to cover as much light from entering her eyes as possible, she swiftly squinted her eyes to have a closer look. Just as she was about to open the brightly lit room, she suddenly heard the oh-so-familiar voices of her teammates screaming out her name. _

"_Katara!" screamed the Hyuuga and Takahashi. As soon as the Uchiha heiress heard their names, she quickly bolted her way through the door, and took a look around the room. Seeing nothing inside there except a room full of just white walls, the Uchiha continued to hear the voices. As she tried to block them out from her ears, she put her hands over her ears and tried to calm down. But the voices only began to get louder and louder until the Uchiha began to scream out loud and fall to the ground with heavy breaths. _

_End. _

Waking up from some sort of reality-feeling dream, Katara broke out from her unconscious state as she felt sweat slowly pour down from her forehead. As she put her hand over her chest, she felt the erratic heartbeat she held within her, and as she took several deep breaths to calm her down, she was successful within a few moments.

As the Uchiha quickly lifted herself up from whatever lying position she was currently in, she felt a stinging sensation coming from her left side. As she turned to see what it was, she slowly saw blood seep through a bandage. Shocked, she soon realized that she was in a different environment. Just moments ago, she was sure she had been in a forest fighting against several Cloud nin and now, she was just in a state of confusion.

Scanning the room, the Uchiha heiress quickly realized that she was in the Konoha Hospital. But the only question that she held on her mind as she raised her eyebrow was how she had gotten here. As she turned her head towards a bedside table, she saw that there were a couple of cherry blossoms in a vase. And with a closer observation, she could tell that these flowers came at different days; from what she could see, she estimated that she had been here for about two days. And as she thought this through, she also thought through how she must've arrived here. Flashbacks of her fight between the Cloud shinobi flashed through her mind and just as the images of the battle made its way through, so too did the incident of the bluette come across her mind. As those images flashed through, the Uchiha looked towards her hands and her whole body shook in terror as she replayed the scene over and over again. As she tried to shake the memory out, Katara clutched onto her head in an attempt to stop the image. **'Th-that was entirely my fault. I couldn't even save her….' Thought Katara** as she sadly looked down and tried to stop the tears falling out from her eyes.

As the Uchiha quickly wiped her tears away, she heard the knob on her door slowly turn and as she looked up to see who came through through door, she already knew who her visitors were. Looking up at the guests with her navy orbs, she met up with her sensei and her two teammates. But who she was not expecting to enter into her room, from the corner of her eyes, she saw the Third Hokage stand beside her team. Katara met all their gazes and as she turned to them to hear what they had to say, she gave them her full undivided attention as she gave them a nod. With a nod in return form the Hokage, the Uchiha could tell that what they were about to discuss was going to clearly be about the mission.

The Third nodded towards her teammates and her sensei to take a seat near her bedside. And as everyone was settled down, he began their discussion. "As you know, the Hidden Cloud Village's bases are still along our borders. Seeing that you three were unable to complete your mission, I will need to find some other team to do so."

Shocked expressions were on Team 7's faces as all three members looked at the Hokage with surprise. On the other hand, their sensei just sat there, showing his calm exterior.

"What?! Lord Hokage, we can do this. Just give us another chance, I know we messed up, but just let us complete what we've started." Exclaimed the Hyuuga as she got up from her seat. Her male teammate tried to hold her down and tried to get her to sit, but he was unable to contain her.

With another stern look, the Hidden Leaf Village's leader replied with, "I'm sorry, Keiko…but after what happened, I can't allow you three to continue. Katara is not in the condition to go out there again, at least not at the moment. And right now, we need to find someone else."

The Hyuuga was still standing and as Koji watched his teammate about to burst out another statement, he turned towards the Uchiha to see if she would say anything. Looking at Katara, Koji saw that she was still out of it; from what he saw, he knew she was still thinking about Akira's death, and as the Takahashi turned back to Keiko, she started to exclaim once again. "But, Lord Hokage…..!" until she was interrupted by their sensei.

As the silver-haired Jounin got up from his seat to stand in front of his students, he faced them and continued on with, "Keiko…the Hokage has already made up his mind. We don't have time to wait for Katara to heal up. We need to end this now, whether you two like it or not." He had said as he looked at them seriously with his one eye.

Knowing that she had already met her match, the Hyuuga decided to sit down in her seat to hear anything else the Hokage would have to tell them. As Koji remained quiet in his spot, he looked towards Keiko to see her fuming in her seat with her arms folded.

Heaving a huge sigh from the Hyuuga's outburst, the Hokage was about to begin the discussion, hoping that there would be no more interruptions, but as he was about to start, someone else interrupted.

"W-w-wait…" a female voice croaked out as she tried to get the attention of everyone in the room.

Everyone turned their attention to the person who had just spoken up and as they all watched the injured Uchiha slowly get up from the bed, they watched her struggle. Both Keiko and Koji decided to rush to help their teammate, but ignoring all the pleas to stop from getting up, Katara finally managed to stand on her feet.

As she shakingly tried to stable herself, the Uchiha heiress held onto the bed for support. In hand, the Uchiha held the bluette's headband, and as Koji and Keiko watched her struggle, they knew the exact reason as to why she was taking a stand. As her friends stood beside her, Katara looked directly into the Hokage's eyes with her own strong and determined orbs. "…Don't give another team this mission." The Uchiha started as she managed to stabilize herself. "For the most part, Keiko and Koji deserve to be on this mission." She had said, but was interrupted by her male teammate, "But Katara…"

And as Koji tried to continue on with his statement, he was interrupted by the Uchiha as she continued with, "But nothing, Koji….just listen! It was my responsibility to make sure the mission would be carried out. All the failures that occurred during this mission were my fault. I take full responsibility."

The Hokage looked at her and within a few moments he answered back with, "Very well then, Katara. Keiko and Koji will be able to continue, but as for you, you will have to stay back."

Koji looked towards both his teammates and as he was about to retort, the Hyuuga had beat him to it. "Hokage-sama! That's not fair! If out of anyone here, Katara should be the one going on this mission. She was the one who came up with the whole plan to invade the bases. Without her, we would've probably faltered as a team. We need her." The Hyuuga had begged as she looked at the Hokage with her white orbs.

"At the current situation…" the Third said as he was interrupted by surprisingly not by Keiko, but by the Takahashi. "We're wasting time by just being here and arguing! Hokage-sama, just give us the mission! We three can prove to you that we're able to do this! And plus you need all the help you can get!"

The Third looked at the boy in surprise; at times like these, he knew that their male teammate was usually calm and collected and as he looked at Koji in shock, he hid it within seconds and turned back to address them. "You're right…at the moment we do need all the help we can get. And I suppose, you three can go back on your mission. But, I will be sending reinforcements for back up."

As both her teammates were about to cheer for their victory, Katara quickly interrupted by saying, "No…I need to do this on my own. I can do this on my own. Do not send any reinforcements; the only back up I need are Keiko and Koji; as for the rest of the mission, I will complete it." The Uchiha had said as she looked from the Hokage to her sensei and back.

"W-what are you talking about, Katara? You're injured….we can't do this on our own." questioned the Hyuuga as she looked at the Uchiha with the same concern Koji showed on his face.

Both the Hokage and Kakashi stayed quiet as they waited for what she was about to say.

"Keiko, Koji, I respect both of you for what you've done so far, but I need to complete this mission on my own. I know that deep inside," the Uchiha began as she looked at her sensei, "that Kakashi-sensei and the Hokage believe that I have what it takes to finish it off. After all, I'm pretty sure that Kakashi-sensei wouldn't have given me the role of the leader of the mission if he hadn't believed in me. It's now my turn to prove to you that I can live up to those expectations." Explained the Uchiha.

"You're going to need help, Katara." Replied the black-haired male as he looked towards her.

"You guys can come and help, but leave the rest to me. I need to do this." The determined Uchiha heiress said as she clutched tightly onto Akira's headband.

As the Hokage broke in, he said, "Very well then, it's settled that you three will continue on with the mission. Whatever you three decide to do will be up to your squad leader. You will leave tomorrow. As for today, we will be laying Koybayashi Akira to rest."

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It was as if déjà vu was occurring once again; Uchiha Katara stood before the hospital's mirror as she got dressed in a plain, black ninja dress for the upcoming funeral. Although it seemed that she was not in the exact condition to leave the building, she had pushed aside the advice the nurses and doctors had given her. With one more quick look in the mirror, Katara rapidly tied her headband around her neck, and quickly walked out of the bathroom, with the bluette's hitai-iate in hand. Slightly walking with a limp with each step, she managed to reach her friends as they all made it down to the ground floor.

Within moments, they all quietly walked out of the Konoha Hospital and made their way towards the cemetery. The whole walk was full with silence, but as all three members progressed, both the Hyuuga and Takahashi knew that their youngest member was tense as they both watched Katara tightly grip onto Akira's headband as they got closer and closer to the area.

Seeing that everyone had already arrived, all three members of Team 7 made their way to the front of the crowd and waited for the ceremony to start.

"I would like to welcome you all to this sad occasion. Although Koboyashi Akira is no longer with us, her will of fire still burns beside us all. She was valiant and an amazing kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village. Akira was also one of the most prominent medic nin I have ever seen and would've been such a great member within the hospital and a great benefit for our village. But let us not forget how many lives she's managed to touch. I'm sure she'll be missed by her comrades, friends, and village. May Akira rest in peace." The Hokage said as he stood before everyone. As he finished with his speech, everyone got the chance to line up and give their condolences to Akira. All three members of Team 7 were the last people who were there and as they tried to stay strong as all they knelt before her tombstone, both females broke down before their friend.

"Keiko, Katara, we have to go. Everyone's left. We have to get ready for our mission tomorrow." Koji said as he knelt before his two teammates. Once seeing how both of his friends were in such a broken state, he managed to get them both on their feet and to stop shedding tears.

"You're right, Koji; Katara, we better go. We have to be prepared for tomorrow." Said the Hyuuga as she turned towards the Uchiha. As Katara looked at both of them with her navy orbs, she replied with, "You two go; I want to be alone for awhile. Don't worry about me; I'll be ready for tomorrow."

Knowing that the Uchiha would be stubborn, both Koji and Keiko didn't bother to argue, but instead just said good-bye and left her to stand alone in front of the bluette's grave. As she stood their in silence, she took out from her pocket Akira's Konoha headband. Looking at the shining metal plate on top made old memories appear in her mind of the bluette; **'There were so many things left unsaid…Akira, I'm sorry that I couldn't save you. I thought I would be angry with you because I kept asking myself why you saved me? I had nothing in my life, yet you left behind a family that you still have. But now I understand; you're giving me another chance at life. I know now that you saved me because you wanted me to be happy; I know I haven't been acting like myself and I'm sorry, but I promise you right here, that revenge will no longer be an option for me. You told me before that I have to forgive myself in order to find closure; I'm willing to take that advice now. But as of now, for your sake, I will finish this mission!' thought the Uchiha **as newly shed tears fell to the ground as she slowly set the headband upon Akira's grave.

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**Well, I hope you guys are looking forward to seeing how the mission will turn out. Next time, you will see their mission become more intense and see the results; here's a sneak peek:**

Today was a new day for Team 7 as they met up before dawn at the gates. All three of them were ready to complete this misson, but as Katara was still limping towards their meeting point, both Keiko and Koji showed a hint of concern.

"Katara, are you sure you're up to this? I mean we can still help you throughout most of the way if you want." Stated the Hyuuga as stood behind the Uchiha just in case if she fell.

Katara slowly turned back towards her teammate with determined navy orbs and replied back with, "Keiko, please, don't underestimate me. Don't worry about me, I can and will do this."

**Hope you guys enjoyed the preview; until then, please review! **

**-katara**


	20. Chapter 17: Taking Chances part 1

**I just felt that it was necessary to update this story once during my spring break, so here it is. I know there's not that much action in this one, but I enjoyed writing it since I haven't gottena chance to really update this chapter in a long time. **

**Hopefully you guys enjoy! And please, remember to review! I love to hear what you guys think! **

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**Chapter 17: Taking Chances (part 1)**

_Dream: _

"_Akira!" screamed the Uchiha heiress as she watched the rubble crush her friend's body. _

_As she kneeled down to hold her friend's hand, she quickly let out tears as she continued to apologize over and over again of how she was terribly sorry. "Akira, I'm sorry. Please forgive me…" began Katara. "I never meant for you to die. You didn't deserve this." _

"_Katara…" began the bluette as she managed to stop the heiress from continuing. With shocked eyes, the Uchiha turned towards her friend and remained silent as she waited for Akira to continue. "Why did you do it? Why did you let me die?" The kunoichi had said as she glared at the Uchiha and took her hand away from the heiress' touch. _

_As the Uchiha stood up in shock and slowly backed away, she replied with, "Wha-what do you mean, Akira? I didn't do it on purpose! I swear I didn't! And I'm sorry, I'm sorry.." the Uchiha had said as her voice became more quiet and soft. _

"_That's a lie!" exclaimed the bluette as she got up and approached the Uchiha. "If you weren't the one in charge of the mission, I would've made it out alive…but look at you, you couldn't even save me. How do you expect to even be called a ninja?" _

"_Akira, wh-why are you acting like this…" stated the Uchiha as she backed up, but her back had suddenly hit the wall. As the bluette was only a few inches away, Katara looked at her closely and saw the eyes of her own demon. As Akira was just a breath away, she saw the leaf kunoichi take out a kunai and put it near her throat. _

"_Now, I get my revenge…" sneered the Kobayashi as she was about to give the final blow. _

_End. _

"AKIRA!" screamed the Uchiha heiress as she woke up from her nightmare; as Katara looked around the room, she quickly realized that she had sweated a lot from the stress from her own nightmare. As she tried to shake those terrible thoughts from her head, she quickly wrapped her arms around her body in order to comfort herself.

"It was only a dream…" stated Katara as she looked at the clock. Seeing that it read 2:00 AM, the Uchiha swiftly got out of bed and decided to get some fresh air. Opening her balcony door, the Uchiha decided to stand outside for a moment in order to clear her own head. Trying to get rid of her own troubles, the heiress looked out upon the Hidden Leaf Village and as she looked around, she saw how the peacefulness calmed her down. Having just a few more minutes of relaxation, Katara returned back to bed, and without any more disruptions, she slowly fell back to sleep.

* * *

Today was a new day for Team 7 as they met up before dawn at the gates. All three of them were ready to complete this mission, but as Katara was still limping towards their meeting point, both Keiko and Koji showed a hint of concern.

"Katara, are you sure you're up to this? I mean we can still help you throughout most of the way if you want." Stated the Hyuuga as stood behind the Uchiha just in case if she fell.

Katara slowly turned back towards her teammate with determined navy orbs and replied back with, "Keiko, please, don't underestimate me. Don't worry about me, I can and will do this. I am the quickest on my feet on this team and on this mission, we need to be quick. I can do this."

"Kay, Keiko's just worried that you're pushing yourself too hard. I'm worried as well." The Takahashi said as he came into the conversation.

The Uchiha turned towards both her friends and as she looked at them both she responded with, "I know you guys are concerned, but I'll be fine. Come on, we have a mission to complete." And with that, Katara put her hand forward, waiting for her other two teammates to put their hands forward as well. Within a few moments, both of her teammates looked at her and put their arms forward. With newfound determination, all three members of Team 7 made it through the village gates.

* * *

Team 7 had been traveling for more than a few hours and as Katara was in the front leading them, she tried to hide her discomfort with each step she took. While jumping from tree branch to tree branch, she felt her side hurt more and more. Even though the Uchiha heiress tried to heal most of the wound with her own chakra, she couldn't heal it completely. The rest of her wound needed to heal on its own; but the downside was that, Katara knew that her wound would be a major risk factor for the mission. She tried to keep a façade in order to not worry her teammates, but step after step just made it harder for her to hide it.

Keiko and Koji knew how much their friend was suffering and although they wanted to address their concerns, they remained silent. The Hyuuga's white eyes watched the Uchiha every few seconds, as if expecting Katara to injure herself even more, while Koji's own orbs also did the same thing. Keiko quickly noticed that Katara was flinching every few moments, and as she noticed a clearing nearby, the Hyuuga asked, "Hey Katara, can we take break?"

Observing the Uchiha's reaction, both her teammates saw a look or relief past through her navy orbs and as the Uchiha turned back to reply, she said, "Yeah sure. There's a clearing right here. We should probably rehydrate and eat lunch."

Once Team 7 reached the clearing, all three members sat down and rested. All three of them sat around in a circle and as Keiko and Koji were busy eating away, the Uchiha heiress tightly clutched onto her side, trying to stop the pain. Although she continued to send some of her healing chakra onto the wound, it only eased the pain.

The Uchiha heiress was too immersed in the healing process that she didn't realize that her teammates had already finished eating. As they watched what she was doing, Koji quickly broke the silence by saying, "Katara, are you sure you're okay? I mean if you need some time to heal, we can always rest for a day or so. Lord Hokage gave us a deadline of about a week to finish this mission."

Katara looked at her male comrade with a look of shock and as she pondered about the upcoming situation, Keiko came in to defend Koji's words. "Kay, I know that your wound has been bothering you and I think it would be best if we waited another day for you to just rest up."

The Uchiha also looked at the Hyuuga with a look of shock and as Katara turned towards both of them, she said, "Thanks for caring you guys, but I'm fine. We can't waste anytime, especially not for my sake. We're supposed to stop them as soon as possible."

"Are you sure?" questioned the Takahashi as he looked at the Uchiha to see if there was any hidden uncertainty in her.

"I'm positive; so let's go. We can't let the whole village down; they're counting on us." Replied Katara as she slowly got up and grabbed her bag. Her teammates followed her actions as well, and as they both watched their youngest team member travel in front of them, both of them were thinking the same thing: **'Katara, I hope you know what you're doing.' **

* * *

As the sun began to set, Team 7 had already made it towards the borders of the Country of Fire; they had traveled the rest of the way without any breaks and as Katara observed the sky and saw that they were about to lose light, she abruptly stopped their journey and decided to make camp.

"We'll set up here. Koji, can you go get some branches for the fire? Keiko and I will set up the camp." Stated the Uchiha as she and the Hyuuga got out the necessary items from their packs and laid them out. Two tents were quickly put up and as the sleeping bags were laid out, their male teammate came back with the twigs. As Koji set them down and made a spot for the fire, both Koji and Keiko stepped back as they watched Katara rapidly create the seals for a fire-based jutsu. As the Uchiha breathed in and leaned back, within moments, Katara released the fire from her mouth. Once that was done, all three members sat around and absorbed the warmth from the fire as they all waited for the water to boil for their ramen.

Moments later, their food was ready and as Team 7 ate in silence, Katara wondered back into her own thoughts. **'Alright, Katara, you can do this. Despite everything that has happened, you need to do this. Akira would want you to do this. Thought Katara as she was eating. **

Disrupting her from her own thoughts, the Uchiha heiress quickly turned towards Koji as he addressed her. "Katara, so what are our plans from here on out?"

Looking at both her two teammates, she replied with, "Well, we have to leave pretty early tomorrow; the enemy will be expecting us more than ever, which means they will have more reinforcements. All the odds look like they're against us, but just remember that our mission is to take them down. Because of this, we'll have to be unnoticeable; so all three of us have to spilt up. You guys will only accompany me until several meters before their actual headquarters; from there, you guys will leave and I'll take care of everything else. My main goal is destroy all the bases from the inside out." She had explained. "I've already looked at a blueprint of all the bases, so it shouldn't be a problem, but if I take too long, go straight back and get help from the village, do not wait for me." The Uchiha declared as she looked at both her teammates with her serious, navy orbs.

"Katara, we can't just leave you behind! Don't you remember what Kakashi-sensei taught us? Those shinobi who leave their comrades behind are worse than trash. There's no way we're leaving you!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she stood up from her own frustration.

"Keiko, I understand that you and Koji are apprehensive about this, but if I do end up in trouble, that is my own problem. Whether you want to stay or not, it is not up to you; it's my decision and as your squad leader, I'm telling you that if I am in trouble, go back to the village and get help." The Uchiha answered as she too stood up and faced the Hyuuga.

Knowing that this would fuel the Hyuuga even more, their male teammate quickly interrupted their argument with, "You guys…let's all calm down. We need to sleep early anyways, so let's just go to sleep. And Keiko." Addressed the Takahashi, "Katara is right. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. So just leave it up to her."

With that, the Uchiha quickly left the campfire and climbed into one of their tents. As the Hyuuga was about to head off to bed as well, she stopped as she heard Koji's voice. "Keiko, sit here." He had said as he patted a spot next to him. As the Hyuuga silently sat down beside her friend, she looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Now what is this really about? I know you're usually overprotective when it comes to Katara and me, but why have you been acting so strange lately?"

"Koji…it's hard to explain." The Hyuuga began as she looked down towards the ground, drawing patterns on it with her fingers.

"I'm waiting, Keiko." Stated Koji as he stopped her from her previous action.

"I-it's just, after what's happened to her, I don't want to ever see Katara hurt again. I mean she's been through so much. I remember that day when her whole family died, and I saw one of my best friends slowly disappear. She's still hurting a lot on the inside, Koji; I can see it, and I can barely handle it now." Explained the Hyuuga as she quickly broke into tears. Trying to wipe them away, she continued with, "Everything's gone down hill for her, and I'm afraid that we're going to lose her again."

As Koji sat their silently listening to his comrade's explanation, he quickly jumped in and said, "Keiko, I understand how you feel, but you have to realize that Katara needs to grow on her own. I think by letting her complete this mission on her own, she'll find the closure that she needs. She'll finally be free. So just try not to fight with her anymore."

"I guess you're right…sorry about that, I tend to get a little too overprotective." Stated the Hyuuga as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Hn…no problem, but that's what we both love about you." the Takahashi said as he chuckled.

* * *

The new day had finally come and as all three members of Team 7 packed up, they all finished within seconds and were ready to head out. With only a few more hours of travel left, the Uchiha heiress planned to get there before noon. With nod from the others, Katara quickly sprang up into the treetops as Keiko and Koji followed.

* * *

Just a few more hours later, Team 7 arrived at their destination. With just a few more miles from the base, all three members stood still in the terrain as they all looked at each other with a wish of luck in each of their eyes. As Katara stood there with her friends, she quickly took out two headsets for Keiko and Koji to put on.

"Here, put these on so that we'll be in communication. This way, you'll know when I'm in danger." Stated the Uchiha as she gave them each one.

"You sure about this, Katara?" questioned the Hyuuga as she looked at the Uchiha with sympathetic, white eyes.

"Yeah, I am Keiko. And don't worry about me; I'll be fine. You guys have to take care of yourselves. Now you know what to do; don't lose sight of the mission." The Uchiha heiress said as she gave them a sincere smile. "Now, let's do this." Said Katara as she extended her arm forward. Taking a glance at both her teammates, they all put their hands together. And at that moment, they were more than ever determined to accomplish this mission.

"Good luck you two." Said Katara as she quickly disappeared from the area. Nodding at each other, Keiko and Koji quickly split up as well and the clearing was now empty.

* * *

"Keiko, Koji, can you both hear me." Katara said as she spoke through her headset.

"Yeah." Both leaf nin said as they waited for the Uchiha to continue.

"I'm going to be inside the base in a few minutes. Keiko, use your Byakugan to see the whole base. Once I get inside, can you tell me if there are any enemy nin near me?" asked the Uchiha.

"Of course. I'll keep track of you." Answered the Hyuuga.

"Koji, I'm going to need a distraction to get inside. Any ideas?" asked the Uchiha as she hid behind a large oak tree, just a few meters from the base.

"Well I have been trying out this new technique, but I'm not sure how long it will last. My jutsu will create a mist that will make you appear invisible. But you have to move fast because I don't know how long I can hold it for you." Replied the male.

"It's okay, I'll make sure to make it quick. Alright, you guys ready?" asked the heiress.

"Yes.." both shinobi said and soon enough, the Uchiha jumped into action. Using his Shadow Camouflage Jutsu, Koji had to focus and balance his chakra levels to hold it; at the same time, the Hyuuga was using her Byakugan to scan the entire headquarters that Katara was about to enter. Within seconds, the Uchiha was successful at entering into the base and as Koji's jutsu wore off, the Hyuuga took her place as she kept track of her teammate.

"Alright Keiko, I'm in. So I'm going to plant these paper bombs around the whole base; you just to make sure to watch my back for me." Said the Uchiha as she stealthily passed through the different hallways and hid several paper bombs.

"You got it; I'll let you know if anyone is getting too close." Replied the Hyuuga.

With that, the heiress continued with her mission, placing the paper bombs at different places in the base; looking for major beams that would support the whole building, she was smoothly finishing.

"Katara! Just to the left of you, about 7 meters are two Cloud shinobi. They're both Jounin. Watch out." Said Keiko just as Katara put on the last paper bomb onto a large, solid beam.

"Thanks, Keiko." Whispered the Uchiha. As soon as Keiko had alerted her, Katara quickly focused chakra onto her palms and feet as she stuck onto the ceiling. Within moments, Katara felt Koji's jutsu take effect again, and trying to not make any noise as she saw the two Cloud nin pass by her, she was successful as she silently landed on her feet and continued on her way towards the exit.

Turning on her bloodline limit just in case, the Uchiha heiress focused on trying to locate an exit. As she crouched on the ground and felt for any sign of life outside of the base, she finally found one that was far from her location. Getting up on her own two feet, she suddenly heard something from her earpiece.

"Katara….(break) there's (break)…" started Keiko as the signal faded.

"Keiko? Keiko? Keiko!" said Katara as she tried to see if she could get the signal back. **'Great, so I'm on my own right now then.' Though the Uchiha as she smashed her headset in pieces. **

As the Uchiha continued on her way, she suddenly felt a jolt of electricity go throughout her body. Her body suddenly wouldn't respond to her actions, and as she slowly fell to the ground, she used her blood red eyes to look directly at her attacker.

Trying to push herself up, Katara found it useless as she couldn't even move. Still trying to figure out who her attacker was, the Uchiha quickly saw that the Cloud shinobi was kneeling a foot before her own face. Using her eyes to look up at the young, dark-haired male, she saw his smirk as he realized who she was.

Slightly holding her up a few inches from the ground, the Cloud nin looked her directly in the eye and said, "Well, well, what do we have here? It must be my lucky day because I thought the Uchiha clan was extinct. Kenta-sama is always interested in rare bloodlines; he will be happy that I found you." Her attacker said just before he hit her pressure point and the Uchiha suddenly blacked out.

* * *

**I hope this chapter wasn't too bad, but tell me what you truly thought about it and how the story is going along so far? I know I'm not at the plot where the Naruto series starts, but I just wanted to show you guys how the whole story starts from Katara's life and then afterwards, it wil tie into the Naruto plot that you guys know, but it will definitely be focusing on the Uchiha a lot more. **

**Hope you review!**


	21. Chapter 18: Taking Chances part 2

**Please keep reviewing! I'm excited to hear what you guys think! I'm coming towards a little bit of writer's block, but I'm definitely trying to think things through and figure things out. And I will try my best to update as much as possible. Now to the story! **

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* * *

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**Chapter 18: Taking Chances (part 2)**

"Katara!" the Hyuuga exclaimed as she headed for the base. Just as she was a few meters from the actual headquarters of the Hidden Cloud Village, her male teammate quickly came to her side and grabbed her arm before she got any closer.

"Keiko, are you crazy?!" exclaimed the Takahashi as he turned her around to face him. "You know what Katara said." He sternly said as he glared down at her.

"Koji! She's in trouble; you saw what happened to her!" argued Keiko as she tried to get out of his grip.

"If you go in there, you'll get caught too, and then the mission will be blown. Is that what you want?" asked Koji as he looked at her seeing that she had finally calmed down and silenced herself.

Knowing the answer, the Hyuuga finally accepted defeat as she said, "Fine, let's go back for help."

"Alright let's go. The light will be gone in a few hours. We have to try to cover as much ground as we can before it becomes dark." Said Koji as they both made their way towards their home.

* * *

Waking up with a sore bruise on her neck, the Uchiha quickly looked at her environment. Looking around, she saw that she was in some sort of jail cell with chains around her arms and legs. At the moment, she was just sitting down on the cold, hard, and dirty ground and before even thinking about what she would do next, the Uchiha tried to focus chakra in her hands to break the handcuffs. As she focused some chakra, a huge surge of electricity traveled throughout her body, causing her to scream in pain. As her screaming ended, she quickly took several deep breaths before recovering from the pain.

**'So these are chakra absorbing chains that send electrical impulses when I try to even use any of my chakra. Well that's just great; how am I supposed to get out of here?' thought the Uchiha. **Her own train of thought was suddenly disrupted as she turned towards her cell door and saw a shinobi enter. As she was hurled up from her feet, the Uchiha didn't even have enough time to see who was rudely shoving her out of the cell. As she fell behind said shinobi, she saw that it was the same man that had captured her earlier. Having a better look at him, she could tell that he was as ruthless Jounin that was probably about her sensei's age. He continued to drag her for a long time through the barely lit hallways; the whole journey felt like ages to her and finally, they arrived at two huge, rusty, metal doors. As the man before her opened the two doors, he once again pushed her inside. Trying to cover her eyes from the bright light that was in the large room, the heiress quickly adjusted to the intense lighting as she looked around her new environment.

She saw that there were several chairs and a table that stood in the middle of the room; seeing all of this, she quickly realized where she was. **'This is a torture and investigation room!' Katara exclaimed in her head** as she began to panic on the inside. Trying to search for any way out, she was about to turn towards the door, but a low voice suddenly stopped her and forced her to turn around.

"Where do you think you're going?" Stated a man with spiky, white hair and piercing orange eyes. As he glared at her, Katara lost control of her voice as her body was too stubborn to answer back as she took a big gulp in her throat. As he approached her, he quickly grabbed her and chained her down to a metal chair. Katara quickly tried to struggle out from the chair, but as he towered over her, he said, "Don't bother; the only way you're going to get out is if I allow it. Now if you're a good little kunoichi, you'll cooperate." He had said as he smirked at her.

Just looking at him made her shiver a bit on the inside; she could see that he had big plans for her if she didn't cooperate in his orange eyes, but putting aside her own fear, she looked up at him with determined eyes, waiting for what was to come.

Another door in the room quickly opened, and turning her attention towards it, Katara saw another person enter the room; the person seemed to be a platinum-blonde female with white eyes and as the Uchiha heiress watched her stride in, both Hidden Cloud ninja circled around her.

"So this is the Uchiha, Kenta-sama?" questioned the blonde as she put one arm on her hip and turned towards her superior.

"Yes, it is. Try to get enough information from her as possible." The white-haired man said as he stepped back. Nodding towards her leader, the kunoichi stepped forward towards the heiress and went down in order to be eye level with her.

Trying not to show any fear, Katara looked back at the girl with the same amount of determination and as she watched the man sit just across from her, Katara's chin was quickly moved to look directly at the kunoichi's white eyes.

Taking a seat at the table across from the Uchiha, who was still restrained, the kunoichi said, "Let's start easy; why are you here?"

Looking at both shinobi with her navy orbs, the Uchiha retorted back with, "I'm not obligated to answer that." The heiress had said as she turned her attention away from the two people in front of her.

Seeing that some frustration was evident in both of their eyes, Katara slowly waited for one of them to explode out of anger. But the blonde-haired kunoichi quickly calmed down, and as she stood up from her seat, pushed the Uchiha's chair from the table, approached the Uchiha, and quickly gave Katara a punch in the gut.

Recovering from the mere shock of what had just happened, Katara quickly coughed up from blood from the hard hit. The attack had nearly skimmed her already sore side and as Katara tried to hide the immense pain that came from that attack, she contained a scream that she was going to let out. While still coughing, she glared at the girl with her navy orbs with disgust, but as the kunoichi smirked at her again, she said, "Don't worry, there's more of that if you don't cooperate. Now, I'll give you one more chance, why are you here?" the female asked with a soft, yet mischievous tone in her voice. Tapping her foot on the floor as she waited for an answer, the Uchiha still refused to respond with an answer; instead, the heiress said, "I'm not willing to betray my village; so if you want to get information out of me, you'll never get it out."

"So be it; you've lost those chances, now we'll just continue." The kunoichi said as she moved a switch in a remote control in her hand. As a huge surge of electrical energy passed through the Uchiha, several high-pitched screams were heard throughout the room. After only ten seconds of the continual shock, it finally stopped and Katara tried to stop her body from shaking. Looking up at the kunoichi, the heiress tried to show that same amount of determination as she looked at the female again. "What was that?" the Uchiha exclaimed.

Giving her another smirk, the blonde kunoichi said, "That chair you're sitting in is connected to some chakra wires that can create massive amounts of electrical surges that can enter your body. I control it along with controlling what level it will be on. That was just the beginning; we can do this all day if you want."

* * *

After several more hours of continual shocking and physical damage to her body, Katara sat in the chair retaining several injuries, but still refused to even talk. Her mind was now blank with barely any thoughts and as she looked back at her torturer, she could see that the kunoichi was getting more and more frustrated.

"This is ridiculous! I've tried almost everything, and this little brat won't even crack!" exclaimed the blonde as she flailed her arms out and turned towards her superior.

As the man just calmly leaned back in his chair, he replied with, "Just calm down Miko. She's a strong one, I'll give her that."

Looking back at her victim, Katara could feel an intense glare targeted at her and as Miko stood in front of her, she slowly got down to eye level and looked at the Uchiha in the eye.

"You know, you're a lot more of a pest than I thought…but I see one weakness in you; you're mind is slowly shutting itself down and it's truly a shame. I don't think you could even be considered an Uchiha. I've tortured several of them, and I tell you that they're all a lot tougher than you. But yet, you're still alive. It's really a shame; someone like you being the last of your clan's kind. Oh, what would your clan think of you now?" the kunoichi said as she circled around the chair and waited for the Uchiha heiress to respond.

Trying to remain calm, the Uchiha quickly glared back at the girl and said, "You have no right to talk about my clan that way. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You don't know what happened that night, so don't you even try." Katara had said as she tried to control her anger.

"All I'm saying is you should've been gone years ago. I mean if your teammates didn't come back to save you, then what worth do you have for your village anyway?" Miko continued as she stood in front of the Uchiha with folded arms.

As Miko approached her and lifted up her chin for their eyes to meet, she quietly whispered, "You're just useless. A mere weapon used by your own village. You're worthless."

Glaring back at the kunoichi, the Uchiha was unable to contain her anger anymore. As she unleashed her raw emotion, the blonde kunoichi quickly stepped back as chakra began to be released from the Uchiha's body. The chakra quickly dissolved the chakra-absorbing chains and as Katara was still restrained in the seat, she smirked at the kunoichi and said, "I'll show you what it's like to mess with the Uchiha clan." Sharingan eyes suddenly met with white eyes and as they clashed together, the Uchiha heiress had captured the girl in a strong illusion.

* * *

_"Where, where am I?" Miko asked aloud as she looked around the barren, red area. _

_"You're in an illusion. My illusion." Responded Katara as she appeared in front of the blonde. _

_"Well, if this is just a mere illusion, then this will be easy to break out of." The kunoichi said as she smirked and began to make the seals to release the genjutsu. **'Release." Thought Miko as she closed her eyes and concentrated her own chakra. **But as soon as she believed she had destroyed the illusion, she saw the Uchiha glare back at her with blood red eyes. _

_"That won't work." Stated the Uchiha. "This illusion is stronger than illusions you've experience. This is my own world; I control everything here." Explained Katara as she circled around her opponent. _

_"You don't frighten me. I don't think you have what it takes." Retorted Miko as she looked at her opponent with her white eyes. _

_"You really shouldn't question the power of the Uchiha clan. Especially when you're stuck in my world." said the heiress as the blonde was suddenly restrained into a somewhat similar chair that the Uchiha had been restrained in. As the Uchiha stood before her opponent, Katara felt the Hidden Cloud kunoichi glaring at her as she was forced to be seated. Closing her eyes, Katara quickly took a deep breath and within moments, a huge surge of electricity surged through Miko's body. Katara overheard her screams and as she looked back to see how much pain her opponent was in, she quickly stopped. _

_Taking a few breaths before retorting back, the white-eyed kunoichi exclaimed, "Yo-you can't hurt me. This is all an illusion it isn't real." _

_"You can think that all you want, but the pain that you just felt will increase as time goes on. And according to me, you have 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds left." Katara had said as she continued with the same method as she heard her opponent's screams. _

* * *

Katara had quickly destroyed her illusion only after about ten seconds in the real world; and as the she deactivated her bloodline, she still remained restrained in her chair and she quickly looked up to see the kunoichi scream, and then faint from the mere pain of her own illusion.

Kenta slowly got up form his seat, and as he kneeled down before his own comrade, he calmly called in some medic nin from his headset. The medic nin came into the room as quickly as possible, and as they were all shocked to see one of their best investigators unconscious, they quickly led her away. With Miko gone, the white-haired leader turned towards the Uchiha and gave her a cruel looking smirk.

"My, my, I underestimated you, little Uchiha. Who knew that that was the true power of the Sharingan. You'll be very useful in the future." Stated Kenta as he tilted Katara's chin up for their eyes to meet.

"Like I'd work for you…I wouldn't betray my village, so you can just forget about what you're planning!" exclaimed the Uchiha as she still remained restrained in her seat.

"Well if that's your decision, then I suppose you'll have to stay here for awhile. That is until we send you off to our kage. He'll be interested in you." Answered Kenta as he leaned back on the table and stood before her.

"Hn…what is it that you're planning?" Katara curiously asked as she looked towards the white-haired man. "I mean, why else would you go through all the trouble of setting up several bases around the border of the Fire Country, knowing that our shinobi could stop you if we wanted to?"

Opening to reveal his intense orange eyes, having them focused on her, he replied with, "Hn…you're brighter than you look, kid. But seeing that you're not leaving this place anytime soon, you might as well know what the fate of your village will be." Looking at him with her own navy orbs, Katara gave him her full attention as he continued with his explanation; "My clan and I have been fully underestimated throughout time; those who have underestimated us, will now fear us because we plan to have a full on attack on the Hidden Leaf Village. You see, if you've gone over your history textbook, you would've learned that your village was originally the spot where my ancestors would've lived, if it weren't for certain other clans that felt that they had more of a claim to the land than others. From that moment, a battle erupted between these two groups; those who were believed to be stronger against those who were thought of to be weak. Before a war was able to begin, it stopped when a Senju and an Uchiha stepped between the fight, and tried to compromise. That compromise, was for the other clans to leave to where the Hidden Cloud Village now stands. So we were forced to move from our home; from a place that served to be so much better than the land we live in now."

"Why are you taking all of this out of proportion?! You don't need revenge; do you realize you'll be taking innocent lives away?!" exclaimed the Uchiha as she tried to jump out of her seat and attack the man before her. But as she remained restrained she intensely glared at him with her navy orbs as he continued on with more information.

"You don't understand; you wouldn't be able to. Seeing that you come from a clan that was allowed to prosper on that land, you don't understand how much hurt my family had to go through! But all that will change once we regain what is ours! We plan to take over and destroy your village and to discover those bloodlines that have made you powerful. By figuring out the secrets of each clan's bloodline, we will be able to stop any other clans that challenge our authority; we will become unstoppable!"

Widening her eyes in shock, the Uchiha was speechless for words as she continued to listen what he further had to say. "My clan specializes in lightning based jutsus, and within seven days, it will be the exact moment of a strong thunder storm. From there, we can collect enough energy to create our strongest jutsu: the lightning strike. The Hidden Leaf Village will then finally fall, and we will reclaim our rightful place."

"You don't need to kill innocent people to achieve this. Why don't you just talk to the Hokage about it? I'm sure he'll understand. There's other ways to doing this instead of using drastic measures." Stated the Uchiha.

"It's too late for that; for years we've been denied something that was rightfully ours and at this point, your pathetic village doesn't deserve any mercy. I'm sure you'll be willing to help us though." Kenta said as he smirked at her.

"And what makes you think I'm going to help you?" questioned the Uchiha as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe not you precisely, but a clone." Kenta replied as he stepped back and revealed an exact replica of the heiress. Looking at her own clone, Katara was confused beyond reason as she turned towards the white-haired man for an explanation. "We can easily transform our bodies into anyone we wish to be. This is just one of my kunoichis that will enter your village and destroy it from the inside out."

"You know what to do; you can leave now, Chizu." Kenta said as he turned towards the Uchiha-look-a-like.

"Hai, Kenta-sama." She replied as she gave the Uchiha a smirk and quickly left the room.

"Now you," Kenta began as he turned towards the Uchiha, "I can't let you interfere." Talking into his headset, within seconds, two strong-looking Jounin entered the room, and restrained the Uchiha with chains as they removed her from the room. Forcefully pushing her towards the cells below, they both roughly pushed her into her cell as they once again locked her in.

Looking at her surroundings once again, Katara heaved a huge sigh as she tried to think of an idea of what to do.

"Well considering that I'm stuck here, I should try to get the information I just learned to Keiko or Koji. They'll probably want to know." The Uchiha whispered to herself as she tried to form hand seals. But as she tried to concentrate chakra in her body, the surge of electricity throughout her body prevented her from doing so. Keeping up her will to persevere, the Uchiha fought against the pain as she quickly bit her thumb and created the necessary seals for a summoning. **'Summoning Jutsu: Morio of the Forest!' **

A puff of smoke disappeared as fast as it had reappeared and once it had completely cleared away, Katara revealed a small golden-colored fox. Looking up at her with emerald eyes, the little fox replied, "Hey, long time no see, Katara! So what was the reason why you summoned me? And whoa, you don't look too hot, kiddo."

Looking at the fox, Katara replied with, "Morio, I need your help. Can I count on you to deliver something for me?"

"I don't know; where are you anyways? Doesn't seem like a great place if you ask me." Answered the golden fox as he slightly shifted his head to the right to look at her.

"Well," began the Uchiha as she quickly scribbled the information on a scroll and had handed it to the fox, "I need you to deliver this scroll to Keiko and Koji. If you don't find them, go straight to the Hidden Leaf Village. The village is in danger and this scroll contains valuable information. I know you're the only one who can do this since you're so well at escaping out of tight places, so I'm counting on you." Katara said as she gave the fox a smile and patted his head.

"Well, what about you, what are you going to do?" questioned the fox as he got onto all fours and was about to leave.

"I'll be fine, Morio; don't worry about me, I'll make it out of here. I already have a plan. So just head out of here, and make sure that scroll gets to them or the village. Don't look back, and please hurry, okay." The Uchiha heiress said as she insisted that the fox quickly leave.

Leaning against the wall of her cell as soon as she knew her summoning had left, Katara let out another sigh as she looked around and tried to think of a plan. **'If only what I told, Morio was true. A plan? I don't even have one right now.' Thought Katara **as she slowly closed her eyes and tried to remain peaceful as she slowly let sleep take her.

* * *

"How do you think Katara is holding up, Koji?" asked the Hyuuga as both members of Team 7 were sitting around the campfire.

"She'll make it through Keiko. We just have to have faith in her. We have at least another two days before we enter the village, hopefully she'll find a way to get out before then. She's a smart one, Keiko, she'll figure some way out." Answered the male as he turned towards her.

"I just hope she's alright." Stated Keiko.

* * *

"Chizu, how is your mission going?" asked Kenta as the Hidden Cloud kunoichi listened to her headset.

"The mission is running smoothly so far. Seiji, Kagami, and I will reach the village soon. But I did find some of our Uchiha's teammates nearby. It seems as if they've set up camp for the night. They seem to be headed in the same direction." Answered the kunoichi as she and her teammates continued their pace towards the village.

"Interesting, mind if you tell me where they are?" asked their superior.

"Hai, Kenta-sama." Replied a red-haired boy (Seiji). "They're approximately 110 meters south from your location."

"Well then, I'm sure you've seen what they look like…so change your appearances to match theirs before you reach the village. I'll be sure to take care of the rest." Stated Kenta before he ended their conversation.

"Hai." Exclaimed all three shinobi as they continued on their journey.

* * *

Waking up from a long and struggling night of sleep, Keiko quickly left the tent to look for her teammate. As she quickly stepped out, she saw that their entire campsite was surrounded by at least five Hidden Cloud shinobi. Turning her attention towards her male comrade, Keiko saw that he had been quickly captured. Turning on her Byakugan for defense, she quickly held up her palms as she waited for the first strike from her opponents; not seeing any of them move, she quickly saw them slowly move a kunai closer and closer to Koji's throat.

"You even try to attack us, your teammate here gets it." Threatened a large looking man as he smirked at her.

Knowing that she didn't have a chance, the Hyuuga turned off her bloodline and felt defeated. Putting her hands to her sides, she let the other shinobi capture her as they headed back towards the base.

* * *

"So Keiko and Koji were captured." Said the golden fox as he did his best to conceal himself beneath a lush bush. "Then there's no other choice, I have to get to the village as quickly as possible."

* * *

The Uchiha heiress had a rough night; she had awoken at least three times during the middle of the night from a nightmare and as her body became sore from sleeping on the rough ground of her cell, she slowly got up from the ground and leaned against the wall. Looking up towards the ceiling, she tried to decipher if her dream had actually happened.

**'That dream, well I guess nightmare, felt so real. I wonder if Keiko and Koji actually got captured. If they did, they aren't in the same base as me because I would sense them right away. If this dream is real, then I better get out of here quickly and rescue them before they get hurt.' Thought Katara as a thought came to her head. **

* * *

A few hours of staying in the cell and eating some breakfast that they had fed her, the Uchiha heiress was ready to commit to her own plan. Although there were some major holes in her own plan, Katara knew that it was now or never. Hearing footsteps approach her cell, she knew that they had come with her lunch. Quickly getting onto her feet, the Uchiha scaled onto the ceiling and waited for the shinobi to look into the cell.

"What? She's gone…" the shinobi said aloud as he rapidly opened the cell and entered. Before even realizing where she was, the Uchiha quickly jumped down onto her feet, appeared behind the man's back, and quickly hit a pressure point that knocked him unconscious. Looking down at her opponent, the Uchiha quickly took his keys, and tested each one to see if they would unlock her chains.

"Alright, so the chains on my feet are gone, but this guy doesn't have a key to unlock the chains on my hands." Stated the Uchiha as she quickly left her cell and closed the door.

Making her way throughout the base, the Uchiha heiress made sure to check for any shinobi before passing through each hallway. As she reached an intersection, she concealed her body close to a wall as she waited for the shinobi to pass. As she was about to take another step, one of the two shinobi sensed her movement and quickly turned to strike her.

Narrowly dodging two kunai knives to the head, the Uchiha quickly decided to try to knock them out. Grabbing both kunai with her hands, Katara quickly realized that her hands wouldn't be useful in this situation. Not even knowing if this would work, Katara quickly threw both kunai in the air, and without a second thought, kicked both kunai towards her opponent. Watching the projectiles move rapidly through the air, they made perfect contact with their targets as both shinobi fell down dead.

Before anyone else would figure out what happened, Katara quickly took both bodies to a nearby closet and quickly shoved them in. Quickly leaving from the closet, Katara quickly slid out into the hallway and began her journey out from the base once again.

As she was smoothly making her way through, Katara avoided another barrage of kunai and shuriken as she looked up and saw other shinobi that were gaining on her.

"She's escaping! Make sure she doesn't leave. Kenta-sama will be displeased if he finds out!" exclaimed one Hidden Cloud shinobi as all of them increased their pace.

Running as fast as she could, the Uchiha quickly turned right, but once looking around, Katara realized that she had reached a dead end. **'Bad choice on my part; but, I still have one option…' thought Katara** as she looked at the stone wall.

"It's over, Uchiha. Give up now and you won't have to suffer a severe punishment." Threatened a shinobi as he stepped forward. Looking at him, the Uchiha saw that he slightly resembled Kenta, and as she lowered her arms and closed her eyes, Katara quickly calmed herself down. She felt all the shinobi slowly approach her and as she opened her eyes to reveal her Sharingan, she quickly replied, "I don't think so," before using her own Mangekyou Sharingan. In an instant, black flames began to engulf the opposing wall and as the other shinobi tried to cover themselves up from the immense heat of the flames, Katara took that time to jump through the opening and finally meet up with the nice, fresh air, away from the base.

Once Katara managed to escape and take cover behind a tree, the Uchiha looked at her chains once again and tried to think of a way to open them. Letting another sigh out, Katara quickly concentrated a massive amount of chakra; knowing that a surge of electricity would pass through, she tried to ignore the pain as she desperately tried to pry the chains apart. As she concentrated more chakra, she continue to fight against the pain, but as the idea of liberation came to her mind, Katara persevered and eventually the chains broke in two.

Taking huge breaths of relief, the Uchiha took a small break as she leaned her body against the tree. Her Sharingan took a lot out of her along with concentrating a lot of chakra to free herself; therefore, as she continued to take huge, deep breaths, she also began observing her surroundings. Looking at the environment, she knew she was just far enough from the main base; and looking at the building that was just a few hundred meters away from her, she quickly concentrated some chakra before setting off her paper bombs. As the small explosions were set off, each one after the other, all the paper bombs the Uchiha had set up quickly caused the huge building to crumble.

Turning her attention back to her situation, Katara knew that she needed weapons to finish this mission. **'Well, they may have taken most of my weapons, but they didn't take all of them.' **Thought Katara as she pulled out two scrolls from her back pocket. Swiftly unsealing them with her own chakra, several puffs of smoke appeared as several weapons were revealed. Taking out several kunai and shuriken, the Uchiha heiress quickly resupplied her reserves and took several paper bombs out too. While resealing the other weapons, she quickly put both scrolls back into their places, and began to move towards the direction of her teammates. Sensing that their chakra signatures were towards the west, the Uchiha quickened her pace and was minutes away from executing her plan for their escape.

* * *

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**Here's a preview to what's going to happen next: **

Several minutes later, Katara was hidden behind a huge oak tree as she looked what stood in front of her. The building before her was similar to the main base and as the Uchiha heiress watched several Hidden Cloud shinobi rush around the entire base, she concluded that everyone must've discovered what had just happened. Knowing that everyone was going to look for her, the Uchiha knew that her guard had to be up. From this, Katara also knew that they probably were on high alert and would guard her teammates more closely.

**'I have to find a way to get in there without drawing any attention to myself. But how is that going to be possible?' Thought Katara as she remained behind the oak tree. **

Looking around the entire area, she saw several shinobi stationed; although the Uchiha heiress knew the huge risks that came with this rescue, Katara was willing to put her own life on the line for her friends. **'Alright, I only have one shot at this.'**


	22. Chapter 19: Taking Chances part 3

**Here's the new chapter! I managed to find some time to edit it and reread it. Sorry there's not that much action in this chapter as I would've liked, but please continue to read and see how the whole mission goes. **

**BUT I'd like to personally thank twilightdappledmoonshadow for encouraging me to continue this story! Thanks for your thoughts again and you've definitely made me more confident in the direction that I'm going to take this story to. So this chapter goes out to you! Thanks so much again! **

**And remember, please review at the end of the story! Anonymous reviews are definitely welcome! **

**'Thoughts' **

_Flashback_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 19: Taking Chances (part 3)**

Several minutes later, Katara was hidden behind a huge oak tree as she looked what stood in front of her. The building before her was similar to the main base and as the Uchiha heiress watched several Hidden Cloud shinobi rush around the entire base, she concluded that everyone must've discovered what had just happened. Knowing that everyone was going to look for her, the Uchiha knew that her guard had to be up. From this, Katara also knew that they probably were on high alert and would guard her teammates more closely.

'**I have to find a way to get in there without drawing any attention to myself. But how is that going to be possible?' Thought Katara as she remained behind the oak tree. **

Looking around the entire area, she saw several shinobi stationed; although the Uchiha heiress knew the huge risks that came with this rescue, Katara was willing to put her own life on the line for her friends. **'Alright, I only have one shot at this.' Thought Katara **as she took out a small, rolled up ball filled with poison gas. As she looked at the weapon in her hand, the Uchiha was ready to put her plan into action.

Quickly looking ahead of her, Katara saw that the same amount of shinobi stood at the front. Without any hesitation, the heiress quickly threw the poison gas at the group of shinobi. As she watched the bomb release its poison into the air, the Uchiha remained in her position as she tried to decipher what was happening behind that gas. Hearing several shinobi yell and order that some go out into the forest to check things out, the Uchiha knew that that was her cue to move. Rushing from her hideout, Katara swiftly moved her feet throughout the forest. As she circumvented throughout the whole area around the base, the Uchiha abruptly stopped as she still saw that her bomb was still covering the whole area in purple smoke.

'**I had a feeling that would happen. But what am I supposed to do now?' thought Katara **as she was looking ahead. As she saw the gas spread closer and closer to her, the Uchiha quickly put on a protective mask and tried to see her surroundings. Not only could she not see what was in front of her, she felt as though she was blind. Activating her Sharingan, the Uchiha found that her bloodline was no use. The chakra signatures that she normally would've been able to see with her kekkei genkai were too blurred and unclear. Trying to calm herself down, the Uchiha closed her crimson orbs as she tried to think clearly.

'**So now I'm made my situation worse. I can't even see and although my distraction worked, I still need to see the surroundings in order to get inside.' Thought the Uchiha **as she was slowly losing hope. Not knowing what to do next, the Uchiha slowly leaned on what seemed to be a tree stump and as she tried to distinguish between the purple smoke and the blue sky, the Uchiha heiress was close to breaking down from frustration.

As a picture of her teammates came to her mind, Katara suddenly got onto her feet and was willing to try again. **'Well Keiko, you sure did teach me one thing, and I just hope this works.'** **Katara thought** as she concentrated chakra in her eyes. The Uchiha quickly felt her chakra sharpen and focus in her navy orbs and as soon as she reopened her eyes, Katara quickly looked around her surroundings and saw that everything looked clear. As Katara smirked at her situation, she was thankful that she managed to receive help from her friend in order to control the Byakugan.

This new feeling within her eyes was new and as Katara looked around again, she was surprised at how clearly she could see with her eyes. Knowing that the Byakugan was a powerful bloodline, she was grateful to see the results of her training with Keiko.

_Flashback: _

"_Keiko, this doesn't make any sense." Stated the Uchiha as she looked at the Hyuuga with confusion written all over her face. _

_Looking back at her friend with her Byakugan activated, the Hyuuga couldn't help but let out a giggle at she looked at the Uchiha. _

"_Katara, it probably doesn't make sense to you because you're an Uchiha." Explained Keiko as she deactivated her bloodline and sat down beside her. _

"_What do you mean by that, Keiko?" asked the heiress as she looked at her friend with her navy orbs. _

"_Well, think about it. Hyuuga bodies and Uchiha bodies are made completely different; they're each made differently in order to adjust to the bloodline that each clan has. For instance, the average Hyuuga all has the same eyes and same body structure in order to insure precision when advancing with each attack. As an Uchiha, it seems that your bodies vary which may be why you guys have more of those prodigies than the Hyuuga clan. But what every Uchiha has seems to be that you guys have the speed, but as a Hyuuga, it's all about accuracy." Explained the brown-haired Hyuuga as she looked at her teammate to see if any of the information was making sense. _

_As Katara listened to her friend, she realized that she did have a point and as she nodded her head, the Hyuuga continued wither explanation. "You see, as a Hyuuga, our attacks are more about being accurate and not missing our mark. When we attack, we want to make sure that we can hit our target with only one chance. We try to build up our bull's-eyes and eventually they all pay off. We try to hit each chakra point or vital organ and eventually we see the results of our hard work. On the other hand, although the Sharingan and the Byakugan are somewhat related, the Sharingan is made for a different fighting style. You said so yourself that this bloodline can slow down your opponents' movements and see what they will do next, along with create genjutsus. Therefore, you've been taught that your body needs to keep up with your eyes and that you don't need to be precise with your movements because you have an advantage with your speed. Do you get it now?" _

"_I guess I do." Answered the Uchiha as she got up and was ready to give the Byakugan another try. _

"_Remember Katara, it's all about being in peace with yourself and precision. That's all it takes." Stated the Hyuuga as she got up and stood beside her friend. _

_As Katara remained still, she quickly concentrated enough chakra within her eyes and within a few moments, she saw the world in a new light. Looking around with the Byakugan, the Uchiha saw Keiko's chakra network and was amazed to be able to see the environment around her without moving her head that much. _

"_Alright, now try focusing your chakra in those small chakra points on your hands. I want you to try to push this little pebble out from this log without destroying the log. This will test how well your chakra control is." Said the Hyuuga as she held out a skinny, short log with a pebble tied to a string in the middle. The Uchiha looked at the log with a bit of hesitation, but as she stepped back a few inches, she nodded to the Hyuuga to signal that she was ready. _

_Putting one palm forward, the Uchiha heiress let a deep breath out and as she looked at her target, she focused just enough of her chakra into her chakra points in her palms. As she returned her focus to her target, her Byakugan closed on in on the pebble, and without any hesitation, the Uchiha quickly pushed the chakra out from her palms in a single slit. As Katara stood still looking at what had just happened, the heiress looked at her friend in shock. In return, the Hyuuga also widened her orbs and was surprised to see that the pebble was launched out of the log without destroying the wooden object. _

"_KATARA! You did it!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she embraced the Uchiha. As both girls jumped up and down in joy, they stopped within minutes as the Uchiha still remained shocked. _

"_That took me about 3 months to control my gentle fist, and look at that! It took you only a few hours and with only one try too!" stated the Hyuuga as she gave her friend a huge smile. _

"_I couldn't have done it without you, Keiko. Arigatou!" said the Uchiha as she returned the smile with her own smile and hugged her back. _

"_No problem; that's what friends are for." Said the Hyuuga as they continued to hug_

_End. _

'**Thank you Keiko. You've taught me so much and I don't know how to thank you. But as of right now, I promise to get you two out.'** **Thought Katara** as she quickly entered into the base with her Byakugan still activated.

Seeing that mostly everyone was outside looking for the disturbance, the Uchiha still had her guard up as she was fully inside the base. Stopping a moment before continuing on, the Uchiha heiress leaned closely against the wall and closed her eyes to sense for any familiar chakra signatures. Spreading her own chakra throughout the whole building, the Uchiha heiress quickly sensed where her teammates were located. Her chakra quickly retreated back to her and as Katara opened her eyes she quickly took a turn into the east wing of the building.

As she smoothly made her way towards her teammates, she found that they were behind a large, steel-looking, chakra-absorbing door. Looking at the door again, Katara took a step back and examined it with her Byakugan. She saw some seals on the door and as she tried to figure out what type of barrier it was, Katara tried to reach for the door, but was quickly hit with a hard, solid barrier that sent a small electric shock to her arm. As she quickly pulled her arm away, Katara looked at her arm and saw that there was a slight burn that appeared. Stepping a few steps back from the barrier, the Uchiha quickly took some time to heal her minor burn; sending some healing chakra into her wound, within seconds, she felt the pain ease away and leave her arm.

Her focus was then brought up again to the barrier that stood before the door. Looking at it again, Katara tried to look for any weak points in the barrier with her own Byakugan. Not seeing anything so far, she tried to see where the source of the barrier came from. She quickly realized that just by looking at the barrier that its source came from the middle of the door. Knowing that they probably set up the barrier this way as to ensure that there was no weak spot, the Uchiha had to give up her search for any weakness within the barrier.

'**The only way to get rid of this barrier now is to hit it at its source.' Katara thought **as she quickly took a few more steps back. Feeling her back hit the opposing wall; Katara looked around the whole area and turned off her Byakugan. Not knowing if this would work, the Uchiha heiress was willing to try anything to try to break the barrier. Concentrating a huge amount of chakra into her left fist, the heiress was ready to strike through the barrier with her highly concentrated chakra attack. Using the wall as leverage, the Uchiha focused some chakra into her feet in order to add more of a force to jump off of the wall. Quickly forcing herself off from the wall, as Katara was about to make contact with the barrier, she put her fist forward and eventually both the barrier and her chakra-filled fist made contact. The Uchiha quickly fought through the pain as several burn marks were forming on her hand, and she managed to break through the barrier and hit its source.

Huge amounts of rubble were thrown in her direction and as Katara tried her best to shield her eyes from the rubble, most of the rubble managed to scrape her skin and cause minor scratches that were currently bleeding. Looking at the destroyed door, Katara put her hands on her knees as she heaved out huge deep breaths. Seeing that the blood had dried up from her fist, she still saw the remaining dripping blood leave paths down as it dripped down onto the floor. Choosing to ignore the pain and injuries she just sustained, the heiress quickly entered the room and saw her teammates tied up near the corner.

Seeing them allowed some relief to pass through her body and as she ran towards them, she quickly knelt down and gave them a big hug.

"I'm glad you're safe." Stated the Uchiha as she looked at both her teammates with a huge smile on her face.

"You're alive!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she looked at her friend with her white eyes. The Uchiha saw a huge relief pass over both her friends' faces and she quickly took out a kunai and cut off the ropes that had restrained them.

"Thanks Kay. That feels a lot better." Said the male as he looked at his friend and rubbed his wrists, trying to get the numbing sensation away.

"Any idea what's going on? They were talking about heading to the Hidden Leaf Village, but that's all we heard." Said the Hyuuga as both she and their male teammate looked towards Katara for any answer.

"Yeah, just sit down here. Everyone's outside thanks to my distraction, but I better explain this to you guys before they get back." Began the Uchiha as she looked at her teammates with serious orbs and began her long explanation.

* * *

A few minutes later:

"So that's what they're planning. We over heard one of them talk about this lightning strike attack that needs three seals to be set up before actually using it. This is starting to make sense. Well I guess from here, we have to head back there quickly." Stated Koji as he got up from his spot and turned towards his comrades.

"You're right, Koji," said the Hyuuga as she stood up beside him. "We better go, Katara." Said Keiko as she offered her hand to pull the Uchiha on her feet.

Once Katara was on her feet, she looked towards her two teammates and replied with, "I can't go with you guys. I have a mission to finish here. But you guys need to go back to the village to warn them."

"What are you talking about, Katara? Did you just not experience what happened to you when we left you behind?" questioned the Hyuuga.

"There's still a job to be done here, Keiko and I need to destroy the rest of the four remaining bases. I'll meet you guys back after I'm done. Just get to the village as quickly as possible. I already set Morio with a scroll with all the information I learned. He's on his way towards the village." Answered Katara as she looked them.

"Well, if you say so captain, we'll just have to follow your orders." Koji said as he gave the Uchiha a smirk.

"Thanks, Koji. Well before you guys leave, here." said the Uchiha as she quickly tore off a piece of her shirt and divided it into three strips. Quickly tying each strip on her teammates' wrists and her own as well, Katara stepped back to look at her handy work.

"What is this for?" questioned Keiko as she curiously looked at her wrist and saw that a white-ish ribbon was on her wrist.

"It's just to distinguish you guys from your so called clones. They're probably heading towards the village as we speak, so you have to make sure to stop them at whatever cost." Explained the Uchiha as she stepped farther back. Looking at her teammates one last time before leaving, the Uchiha heiress quickly turned around and began a fast sprint. Turning around a corner, she could feel her teammates' eyes on her and as she was rushing through the hallways with paper bombs, she heard the voice of her loud-mouth friend. "Uchiha Katara! You better come back alive!" Smirking at her friend's comment, Katara put on the final paper bomb and was making her way out from the building.

* * *

"Alright, so what's the plan, Koji?" asked the Hyuuga as they both were running side by side from each other.

Turning his dark blue gaze to look at his teammate, Koji responded with, "Well you heard Katara; we need to get to Konoha as soon as possible. We have quite a long way to go, so come on, let's pick up the pace." The Takahashi said as he increased his own speed.

Seeing her teammate increase his pace, Keiko quickly followed suit. And for the rest of the way, both shinobi remained focused on arriving to their destination.

* * *

Two hours later:

Heavily breathing in and out, Katara stood behind a lush, green tree as her hands remained on her knees to stabilize herself. Looking back at the last base she had just infiltrated, the heiress was ready for the final blow. Returning her gaze back to the building, Katara quickly made the necessary hand sign to activate all the paper bombs. Within moments, the building was reduced to rubble and as Katara looked at the destruction, she was relieved that her entire mission was finally over.

Wiping some sweat off of her forehead, the Uchiha took a break as she leaned onto the tree bark. Taking out some water, she quickly drank a huge amount as she took a seat and was currently thinking what her next move would be.

'**I should head back to the village soon; they're going to need all the help they can get.' Thought Katara **as she continued to rest.

A few minutes later, the Uchiha heiress felt good and ready to continue on the long journey ahead. Although she was unsure if her body could withstand moving around this much in one day, Katara knew that her will power was strong enough to push her forward.

* * *

"Oh Katara, Keiko, Koji! You three are back so soon?" asked Izumo as he and Kotetsu approached them.

"Hai!" replied the Uchiha as she looked at him and gave him a sincere smile. "The mission was a bit hard, but we managed."

"I knew it! Well keep up the great work, kiddo." Replied the brown-haired shinobi as he patted all three of them on their heads.

"Well we'll be seeing you guys around, I guess." Said the Hyuuga as she waved them good-bye as all three members of Team 7 entered into the village.

"So Chizu, what's the plan now?" asked Seiji as he stepped forward and addressed the look-a-like Uchiha.

"Well just make sure you guys don't blow our cover. Seiji, you're Takahashi Koji, and Kagami, you're Hyuuga Keiko. Are you guys ready?" asked Chizu as she turned towards her two teammates and gave them a smirk.

"Hai!" replied both Hidden Cloud shinobi as all three of them made their way deeper and deeper into the village.

* * *

**Well that's the end of this chapter, but more is going to come! Please review and tell you what you think and remember anonymous reviews are always welcome!**

**-Katara **

**Until next time, here's a preview: **

"You two know the plan. Look for any important kekkei genkai that can be valuable to Kenta-sama. And remember to set that seal in place." Said Chizu as she handed out different scrolls to each member of her squad.

Looking at their squad leader with determination in their eyes, both members shook their heads as they both put their scrolls away. "And remember," began the Uchiha look-a-like, "keep up those appearances; we can't let anyone know who we really are or else the plan will be lost."

As Chizu finished up with reviewing what the mission was, all three members of the platoon quickly left the area.

**'The invasion has begun.' Thought the Hidden Cloud kunoichi **as she made her way throughout the village.


	23. Chapter 20: Taking Chances part 4

**Here's the next chapter and hope you guys enjoy! **

**'Thoughts' **

**_Talking to her demon _**

_Flashback_

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**

**Chapter 20: Taking Chances (part 4)**

Quickly taking in their surroundings, Team 7 spotted the Hokage Tower; within moments, they made their way up the steps and entered into the hallway leading into the Hokage's office. As Koji raised his fist and knocked quietly on the door, all three members of Team 7 entered as the Hokage gave them his permission. Seeing the Third work on several loads of paper work, all three shinobi bowed politely as they addressed the Hidden Leaf Village's leader.

Stopping his hand, the Hokage looked up and stopped his work. Seeing that Team 7 was back, he gave them a warm smile and said aloud, "Ah, Team 7 back so soon? How did the mission go?" asked the Hokage as he looked at all three members.

"It went well, Hokage-sama." Said the Uchiha as she stepped forward. "Although, there were some problems, but we managed well." She said as she sheepishly gave him a smile.

"Good to hear." Replied the Hokage as he leaned back in his chair. "Are there any sustainable injuries that you three need to be looked at?"

"Oh no! Katara's amazing medical skills definitely saved us." Replied the Hyuuga as she gave the Hokage a big smile.

"Well I'm glad to hear that as well. Well then, seeing that your mission was a success, you three are dismissed. You deserve a long rest. The Hidden Leaf Village is in debt for your bravery." Said the Hokage as he quickly got back to his paperwork.

Bowing down to show their respect, all three members of Team 7 quickly left the Hokage's office and rapidly made their way down the steps. They walked slowly around the village, and as they all took a seat down an empty park bench, they all gathered around each other.

"You two know the plan. Look for any important kekkei genkai that can be valuable to Kenta-sama. And remember to set that seal in place." Said Chizu as she handed out different scrolls to each member of her squad.

Looking at their squad leader with determination in their eyes, both members shook their heads as they both put their scrolls away. "And remember," began the Uchiha look-a-like, "keep up those appearances; we can't let anyone know who we really are or else the plan will be lost."

As Chizu finished up with reviewing what the mission was, all three members of the platoon quickly left the area.

'**The invasion has begun.' Thought the Hidden Cloud kunoichi **as she made her way throughout the village.

* * *

"There's only a few hours of light left to travel." Stated Koji as he turned towards Keiko to hear her response.

"Yeah, so what should we do? Do you think it's too much of a risk to travel in the dark?" questioned the Hyuuga.

"I have no idea." Answered the Takahashi as he looked back at the horizon.

Looking around her surroundings, the Hyuuga quickly spotted something near the bushes. Rushing to the spot where she saw something, she knelt down to see what it was. Seeing a scroll hidden in the bush, Keiko quickly took it out and held it in front of her to see what it was. Widening her eyes in shock, Keiko quickly yelled, "Koji! Come over here!"

Within seconds her male teammate sat beside her and as they both looked at the scroll, Koji's own dark blue orbs widened in surprise as well. "This must've been the scroll that Morio was carrying." Stated the kunoichi as she turned towards her comrade. "So what do we do now, Koji? This was the only other hope that we had of quickly informing the village."

Standing up, the Takahashi replied with, "We need to get to the village as quickly as possible. This is an emergency, so we need to travel in the night. Let's get going, Keiko." He said as he quickly jumped back up into the trees.

Looking up at her teammate, Keiko quickly put the scroll away and joined Koji up in the trees as they both continued to travel towards the village.

* * *

Taking another break after traveling nonstop, Katara had no choice but to take a longer break than before in order to catch her breath. Knowing that this much action for her body was not good, the heiress still continued to push herself as she still knew that her village would be in trouble. As the Uchiha sat down and took another sip from her canteen, she felt her own dragon demon's voice surface:

_'**Haven't the villagers put you through enough?'**_

'**What do you mean, Hikari?' asked the Uchiha. **

_'_**_The villagers have all treated you with hate. What's the point of protecting people like them? They've hated you your whole life, and now you're willing to risk your own life for those people that have cause you so much pain?_' ****questioned the demon as she looked at her container. **

'**I-I know that they've treat me like dirt, but there's other people in there that I care about.' **

_'**Do you really think the village will ever accept you? You were cursed the moment you were born! You'll never gain their acceptance, so why even try now?' **_

'**It's because if I know I can save someone, that's all that matters. Even if they throw me around and act like I'm a nuisance, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to save my home.' **

_'**You humans are pathetic! You let your emotions get too caught up in these types of situations, which makes you weak. These ungrateful villagers don't deserve your help.' **_

'**Maybe you're right, Hikari, but I still vowed that when I became a ninja I would protect this village no matter what; that is my nindo way and I never go against my word.' **

_'**You've got some guts by standing up against me, kiddo. Don't you forget that I was the one that was there when you were alone; I was the one who didn't throw you away and treat you like they did.' **_**The dragon demon said as she suddenly disappeared. **

As Katara was now alone in her own mind, she thought**, 'You're wrong, Hikari. I've found people that I hold close to my heart.' **She had thought as an image of her team and sensei showed up in her head.

* * *

'**So it's time to put the plan into action.' Thought Chizu **as she made her way throughout the village grounds. As she made it to her destination, she quickly knelt to the ground behind the academy. Looking around to see if anyone was around the area, the kunoichi suddenly bit her thumb, drew blood out, and formed seals on the ground. Within moments, the Hidden Cloud kunoichi pushed chakra within the seal, and it suddenly disappeared into the ground.

Looking around the area with her navy orbs, the kunoichi quickly left the area and jumped up into the trees.

"Alright, status report." Stated the Uchiha look-a-like as she talked into her headset.

"The two other seals have been set up on the other sides of the village." Answered Kagami.

"They don't suspect a thing. Step one is complete." Responded Seiji.

"Alright, onto step two; you two know what to do. Kagami, report to Kenta-sama." Replied Chizu as she continued to move across the village.

"Hai!" the kunoichi replied as she turned off her headset.

* * *

As the look-a-like Hyuuga looked across the horizon as the sun was about to set, she quickly changed her signal; within moments, she was able to reach her superior.

"Kenta-sama, all the seals are set up." Stated the kunoichi as she waited for his response.

"Good, but I have some bad news. It seems that that Uchiha brat managed to destroy all our bases. Several of our shinobi are hurt, so this whole mission depends on you three. I'm counting on you. Don't fail me." Answered Kenta as the signal slowly faded away.

Still watching the light slowly disappear from the horizon, Kagami quickly retreated back into the forest and made her way towards the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

Seeing that night was quickly approaching, the Uchiha heiress increased her pace in order to travel as much as possible before the light would be lost. Pushing more and more chakra into her feet to increase her speed, Katara continued to feel the full effects of her exhaustion as she stopped abruptly. Her body slowly fell towards the ground and as she desperately tried to pull herself up, she felt how sore her body was and felt her side still throb in pain. As the Uchiha clutched onto her side and sent healing chakra into her injury, she still remained on the ground. Taking some even breaths, Katara managed to pull her body up into a sitting position and she slowly dragged her body toward a nearby tree stump.

Within a few minutes, her body was leaning onto the stump for dear life as the Uchiha heiress was still trying to rest up. Closing her eyes for a moment, the heiress fought against her body's desire for sleep, but she slowly lost the fight as she quickly dosed off into a heavy, long sleep.

* * *

'**We've made it!' thought Keiko **as she and Koji both were a few feet from the village gates.

As both shinobi stepped through the gates, they were abruptly stopped by the gatekeepers, Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Hold on there, what you two think you're doing here?" questioned Izumo as he approached them with a kunai knife in hand.

"What are you talking about, Izumo? It's us; Keiko and Koji." Answered the Hyuuga as she looked at both shinobi with confusion written all over her face.

As Koji observed the situation in front of him, he quickly concluded that the enemy shinobi must've arrived before them and was already inside the village.

"Don't try to fool us. You two are going to be brought to the Anbu right away. They'll decide what to do with the two of you." As both gatekeepers grabbed them and dragged them towards the Hokage tower.

* * *

**Please review! Reviews encourage me to keep writing and they make me aware that people are reading my story. Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Since I have been posting previews at the end of some chapters, I guess I'll post a preview on the next chapter too! **

**-Katara **

**Preview: **

"This is just great, now we're stuck in this cell." Exclaimed the Hyuuga as she turned towards her male teammate and waited for his response.

"Well, at least we know that they're here and they're probably getting ready for their plans. We just need to escape from here and warn the Hokage." Stated Koji.

"You mean as two chuunins, we have the power to escape out of here, while facing against the Anbu black ops?" questioned Keiko as there was a tone of doubt in her voice.


	24. Chapter 21: The Long Awaited Return pt 1

**Well here's the new chapter, I was definitely excited to write this one! I really enjoyed the action that was put into this chapter and I hope you readers enjoy the little fight scenes in here. There's more come, cause this battle is just beginning!**

**Please review!**

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* * *

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**Chapter 21: The Long Awaited Return (part 1)**

Being roughly pushed into the slightly darkened room, both Koji and Keiko felt themselves restrained by strong ropes that were tied onto their wrists and feet. As both teammates sat in chairs, back to back from each other, they both saw that three Anbu black ops had entered the room. One in particular with long purple hair stepped forward; although she was still wearing her Anbu mask, both leaf chuunin knew who this person was: Uzuki, Yugao, one of the best female kunoichi that was an Anbu captain.

As she stepped forward and approached them, both Koji and Keiko knew that they would be interrogated and would be staying in the room for awhile. They both waited for the questioning to begin, but after a few minutes, nothing had happened. All three Anbu were currently leaning on the wall, and as the Hyuuga was about to loudly complain, the door opened, revealing another Anbu member. The new member quickly made his way towards the other side of the room and as he confronted the purple haired kunoichi, Yugao quickly nodded and slowly approached the two chuunin. As both chuunin silently gulped at seeing her form, both knew that it was about to begin.

"Now as imposters I'm sure you had quite a plan when you entered into the village. Unfortunately for you two, you were caught. So what was your plan?"

"We were planning on entering the village peacefully and telling the Hokage about what was happening during our mission." Koji replied without any hesitation as he looked directly at her mask.

"Team 7 had already returned from their mission, so your luck ended when you came here. How can we know that what you say is true?"

"We are telling the truth! You just need to believe us! The village is in danger." Exclaimed the Hyuuga as she continued to struggle in her restraints.

Confronting the Hyuuga face to face as if the kunoichi was glaring at her, Yugao was quick to step back and fold her arms as she replied with, "There have been several cases of suspicious actions occurring around this village recently. We've gotten word that some ancient scrolls have been stolen from the sacred library and the Hyuuga clan. Along with this, we discovered a break in at the Uchiha compound, yet nothing was stolen."

Widening their eyes in shock, both Koji and Keiko remained speechless as they allowed their interrogator to continue to talk; "Perhaps you two are accomplices in what is happening; we cannot purely rely on what you're saying because of these incidents. It seems more than a coincidence that the moment you two stepped into the village, these things have happened."

"We had no idea that that had happened." Stated Koji.

"Under these circumstances, we can't trust people, especially you two who are disguised as two of our top chuunin. Those scrolls that were stolen are very important; I'm sure Lord Hyuuga is upset at what has occurred and we can't take any chances, especially when our enemies are after scrolls from one of our strongest ninja clans."

"That doesn't mean that we were involved in something like this! I mean those Hyuuga scrolls are locked up heavily in a secret base not even close to the Hyuuga compound. If those scrolls got into the wrong hands, then the whole gentle fist fighting style will be unveiled to the enemy." Said Keiko.

"You know an awful lot about those scrolls; there must be a reason as to why you know all this information. You probably are working with the enemy!" the Anbu exclaimed as she continued to look at the Hyuuga.

"What?!" loudly yelled the Hyuuga as she tried to wiggle out of her restraints. As another Anbu came towards her and kept her in place, Keiko slowly stopped struggling and said, "You've got to be kidding me? I am a Hyuuga. That's how I know about those scrolls."

"Like I said before, we can't trust what any of you two are saying right now." Stated Yugao as she continued to stand in front of them.

"I'm serious! I am Hyuuga Keiko! And he's Takahashi Koji! Ask us anything and I bet you we can prove that we're who we really are!" challenged Keiko as she looked at all three Anbu.

"Tiger," began the kunoichi as she turned towards an Anbu with a tiger mask, "Go retrieve the files on Hyuuga Keiko and Takahashi Koji."

"Hai!" replied the Anbu as he quickly disappeared from the room.

As the four shinobi waited for his return, the purple haired kunoichi looked towards both chuunin and said, "We'll see if you're really the people you two say you are."

* * *

Two hours later:

"Alright, at what moment did you Koji first discover your bloodline?" asked the Anbu as she continued to circle around the two.

"At age 4 I was able to activate it. Although it was on accident because I was afraid that my cousin was going to get hurt." Replied the Takahashi as he continued to remain calm.

Looking towards an Anbu sitting by a nearby table, Yugao got a nod from him indicating that the response was correct. Nodding back at him, the female Anbu turned her attention back to the prisoners as she approached the Hyuuga.

Koji had remained calm with whole entire time, but on the other hand, he could tell that his female teammate was becoming restless and as he prayed that the Hyuuga would remain calm and not mess up this one chance of proving their innocence, he waited for the next question to be addressed to Keiko.

"Keiko, at what age did Katara graduate and become a chuunin?"

"Umm…." The Hyuuga began as she began to try to think back and try to figure out the answer. "It was 6, or 7, no, it was…um…pass?" Keiko sheepishly said as she gave the three Anbu a small smile.

Closing the files, the purple haired Anbu member indicated that both Anbu get up from their seats and ordered them to take the imposters away. "Well I'm sure we proved that they're the imposters." She had said as she left the room allowing the other two Anbu to take Keiko and Koji away.

* * *

Being thrown once again into another room, both chuunin were still restrained by their ropes and as they sat beside each other, Keiko couldn't help but feel a slight glare that was pointed at her. As she turned towards her teammate, she noticed Koji's hardened expression and as the Hyuuga tried to get rid of the tension she said aloud, "Hehe, it was just a silly mistake Koji, I mean it's a hard question, how am I supposed to know?"

Raising his eyebrow at her, the Takahashi quickly replied with, "Keiko…you do realize that you ruined our only chances of proving our innocence right?"

Heaving out a huge sigh, the Hyuuga lowered her head in defeat and replied, "Yes I do, Koji, b-but come on, I bet you that you couldn't even answer that question."

"She became a chuunin when she had just turned five, Keiko." Stated Koji in a matter of fact way.

"That was just luck, Takahashi, I doubt you could even remember the day that we all graduated from the academy." The Hyuuga retorted back as she raised her head up and turned to ignore her teammate.

"It was on June 5th." Replied the Takahashi as he smirked at the Hyuuga and watch Keiko's face show a bit of frustration. He was a bit amused to watch his teammate flustered and as Keiko turned back to face him, she retorted with, "You're impossible, Koji! I didn't mean that literally! Sure just put all the blame on me just because I got one question wrong."

"Keiko, that really doesn't matter right now." Stated Koji as he continued to remain calm as he watched his female teammate continue with her loud uproar.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? We're both stuck in this stupid cell! Yeah Koji, this is just great, I've always wanted people to think I was an imposter and lock me up in here." Exclaimed the Hyuuga as she turned towards her male teammate and waited for his response.

"Well, at least we know that they're here and they're probably getting ready for their plans. We just need to escape from here and warn the Hokage." Stated Koji.

"You mean as two chuunins, we have the power to escape out of here, while facing against the Anbu black ops?" questioned Keiko as there was a tone of doubt in her voice.

"We have to try something, Keiko. We should give it a shot." Replied the Takahashi as he began to formulate a plan in his head.

* * *

Morning had come quickly as the sun broke through the entire forest. As it shone down onto a kunoichi's body, she slowly blinked and opened her eyes to welcome in the morning light. Widening her eyes in shock, Katara quickly shot up from her position and forgot about her own pain. Once realizing that her side was still hurting, she pushed more chakra into the wound. Although the Uchiha had regained her energy, she was surprised that she didn't wake herself earlier. Looking around at her surroundings, the heiress quickly stretched out her limbs as she prepared to travel again.

As she continue to observe her surroundings, the Uchiha heiress quickly spotted something near the corner of her eye and quickly headed towards that direction. Only taking a few steps towards her right, the Uchiha was shocked at what she saw. Kneeling on both her knees, she quickly knelt down to see her small fox summoning laying near a small bush in pain.

Katara slowly approached Morio and as she carefully picked him up and put him on her lap, she was quick to check for a pulse. Once sensing that he was still alive, the Uchiha was thankful that her fox was still here and as the Uchiha was about to heal the gash that was on his body, she was surprised to hear him speak.

"Katara…" the fox began as he looked up at her with his emerald eyes.

"Shh…it's alright, Morio, you'll be fine. You did you're best." Katara said as she quickly focused on healing his injury.

A few minutes later, the gash was quickly clean from infections, and the fox was back onto his four feet as he sat in front of the Uchiha. Sitting down herself, Katara watched Morio carefully to see if he felt any discomfort. Seeing that the fox was fine, Katara slowly pet his soft golden fur as he smiled up at her and wagged his tail.

"I'm glad you're fine now, Morio, but do you mind telling me what happened?" questioned the Uchiha as she abruptly stopped and waited for his response.

"Hn…I was heading towards the village with the scroll that you had given me. As I was passing through the terrain, I caught sight of Keiko and Koji being surrounded and captured. At that moment, I increased my speed in order to get to the village as fast as possible. Then that's where I got ambushed myself."

"Wh-what happened?" questioned the Uchiha as she showed concern in her navy orbs.

"Three shinobi attacked me; all three of them were disguised as you guys, and they spotted me with the scroll. Without any second thought, I thought I could pass through them, but it seemed like those shinobi from the Hidden Cloud Village had some incredible speed. They managed to separate me from the scroll and managed to slash me with a katana. I think they thought I was a goner and left me there to die. But I managed to hide myself under that bush and I stayed there throughout the whole night."

"That's horrible! Any idea where the scroll is, Morio?" replied Katara as she began to pet him again and let him lick some water off from the liquid in her palm.

As he finished up, the small golden fox, replied with, "No, I'm sorry. I don't know where it is. But I do smell Keiko's and Koji's scents. They must've passed through the area while I was unconscious. I'm sorry that I let you down." The fox said as he lowered his head in shame.

As Katara looked at her summoning, she slowly lifted his head up to meet up with his emerald eyes. Giving him a small smile, the Uchiha was quick to say, "It's alright, Morio. I'm just glad you're fine. You've done enough and I'm grateful. You deserve a rest."

Looking at the Uchiha with a confused expression, the small fox was quick to say, "What are you going to do then? I'm sure you still have a long way to go before heading back to the village."

"I'll be fine, Morio. I mean I was able to escape and help Keiko and Koji escape as well. I'm sure I can handle myself the rest of the way. Now go back to the summoning world and rest up." Replied the Uchiha as she pet him again.

"If you are sure then, Katara. But if you feel that you need to summon me again, do not hesitate to summon me." Answered Morio.

"Hai! Don't worry, I promise you that I'll come out of this mission alive." The Uchiha heiress said as she gave the fox a thumbs up. Shaking his head at her childish antics, the small fox quickly disappeared from the area, returning back to his own world.

Letting out a huge sigh, Katara took a quick sip out from her canteen; as she finished fulfilling her own thirst, she swiftly jumped into the trees at a fast pace as she continued on her journey.

'**I just hope I'm not too late.' **

* * *

"Get back here!" exclaimed an Anbu as both Keiko and Koji ran through the hallways of the base. Seeing that a group of them were still behind them, both chuunin decided to increase their pace and quickly turned the corner as they managed to distract the group with two clones.

Looking at each other, they both nodded and quickly ran towards the Hokage tower to tell the Third what was going on. As both looked towards the blue sky, they widened their eyes as they saw dark storm clouds approaching them.

"Koji, they're almost here." Stated Keiko as she looked at her teammate with worried eyes.

"Yeah, I know. We need to hurry, come on let's go." Koji replied as he increased his pace. The Hyuuga quickly followed suit as both teammates were running side by side. Unable to stop their fast pace, both shinobi busted through the door in record time and met up with the Hokage himself.

Raising an eyebrow at both leaf nin, the Third abruptly stopped what he was doing and addressed them with, "My my, what an entrance. I'm sure you two didn't go through all the trouble of destroying my door for nothing. Am I right?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. There's some news you have to be aware of" stated Koji as he dusted his clothes off and looked at the Third with serious dark blue orbs.

"What would that be, Koji?" questioned the Hokage as he waited for their response.

"You see—," began the Takahashi as he was suddenly interrupted by three Anbu that entered into the room.

"There they are!" an Anbu stated as the two other shinobi grabbed Keiko and Koji.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked the Hokage as he looked at the three Anbu members through their masks.

"Gomen, Hokage-sama. These two seem to be posing as Hyuuga Keiko and Takahashi Koji. And they just escaped, but thank goodness we've caught them before they could've caused severe damage." Answered the Anbu.

Looking at the Hokage to see if he believed in their words, the Hyuuga was quick to exclaim, "Wait! Hokage-sama! We have something to tell you. There's a huge threat coming to the village soon—," but that was quickly interrupted as an Anbu put his hand over her mouth.

"My apologies, Hokage, we'll take them both away." Stated an Anbu as all three were about to leave with their two prisoners. But they were all suddenly stopped by the Hokage's voice:

"Hold on. Let these two explain themselves." The Hokage had said as he watched his Anbu release the two shinobi and allowed them to approach him.

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama. As we said before there is a threat that is coming soon. When we were on our mission, Katara managed to inform us about what was going to happen. She's not with us right now, but she'll return soon. But as of right now, you need to look at this scroll." Said the Hyuuga as she quickly took out the scroll from her pocket and gave it to the Third.

Quickly skimming through it, the Hokage looked at both shinobi and allowed them to continue.

"These Hidden Cloud shinobi are planning an invasion. They've already planted 3 seals for an ultimate attack and as you can see the sky darkening at this moment, their plan will be made into a reality once their leader Kenta comes here." The Takahashi began.

Jumping in, Keiko continued with, "The people that you saw before yourself were Hidden Cloud shinobi that were disguised as us. They're the real fakes. We just arrived here just after being captured by Kenta and his goons during our mission."

"So if what you're telling me is true, why should I believe you?" questioned the Third as he looked at both of them.

"Hokage-sama, we can't prove to you that we're the real ones, but we just need you to believe in us." Stated Koji as he looked at the Third with his dark blue orbs. But as quickly as Koji finished his statement, all the shinobi within the room looked towards the horizon as they saw the sky darken into an almost nearly black color as lightning, thunder, and rain began to fall from the sky.

"I-," began the Hokage, but he quickly stopped midsentence as he saw another shinobi abruptly come into his office.

"Hokage-sama! There's been an attack at the western front. Several shinobi with the Hidden Cloud emblem are coming into the village!" stated Iruka as he waited for the Hokage's orders.

Widening his eyes in shock, the Third quickly addressed Iruka with, "Iruka, you know what to do in these types of situations. Make sure all the civilians and the children are safe. You Anbu, go get prepared and send out a message to all the Jounin to be ready as well. As for you two," the Hokage began as he looked at them, "Keiko, Koji, your jobs will be to find these imposters and stop them."

"Hai!" all the shinobi replied as they moved out of the office.

'**I just hope we're not too late.' Thought the Third as he looked out from the window of his office. **

* * *

"Come on, everyone into the safety zone." Exclaimed Iruka as he guided many civilians along with young genin into the hidden bases within the Hokage faces.

As he saw one child out in the open, the chuunin was quick to approach the blonde child and knelt down to his level. "Naruto, come on. You have to get inside before you get hurt." He had said as he lead the blonde towards the entrance.

"What's going on here, Iruka-sensei?" questioned Naruto as he looked at his teacher with his blue orbs.

"The village is under attack. Everyone needs to be safe, which is why you need to stay here." Explained Iruka. "Now come on, let's go." Said the chuunin as he dragged his student into the entrance.

* * *

'**Looks like its begun.' Thought Chizu **as she stood before the old Uchiha compound and looked up at the darkened sky as she let the rain hit her face.

As the kunoichi was about to enter, she abruptly stopped as she saw a kunai nearly hit her form. Turning around to see who had just attacked her, Chizu came face to face with Hatake Kakashi.

"So you've found out." Stated Chizu as she smirked at the leaf nin.

"Not too hard considering that you act nothing like my student. But I do have to praise you. You managed to fool several other people." Responded the copy-cat nin as he took out another kunai.

Taking out a kunai of her own, the Hidden Cloud kunoichi was ready to face off against the Jounin. "How did you know though?" questioned the kunoichi as she slowly circled around the Jounin.

"Well for one, your aura is different and two, my students usually join me for ramen after every mission they finish." Stated the silver-hair Jounin as he followed her form with his eye.

"I see." Stated Chizu as she closed her eyes and let the jutsu distinguish itself. As the kunoichi returned back to normal, her true self stood before the Hatake. She appeared to have short blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and a simple, complete black ninja outfit. As she continued to circle her prey, she was quick to advance and attack as she charged at him.

Sensing her movement, the Jounin narrowly dodged a scratch from the kunai knife and as the kunoichi came back with a powerful punch and roundhouse kick, Kakashi managed to dodge each attack, but he also took notice that her speed was impeccable.

Ducking down to avoid another kick, Kakashi missed the fact that the blonde was heading for his chest with a lightning punch. Just in time, the Jounin avoided the attack, but the sparks from the punch skimmed his chest and within moments, he backed off from his opponent.

Clutching onto his chest to see the damage, he saw that the gash was a bit deep and heavily bleeding. Wiping the blood off right away, the Copy-cat nin looked back at his opponent as the kunoichi continued to stand before them.

'**That's impossible, I was sure I avoided that attack.' Thought Kakashi **as he looked back at his opponent.

"Is this all the great Copy-cat nin's got?" asked the kunoichi in a bored tone as she chose to put an arm on her hip. Looking at him with her icy blue eyes, she gave a huge yawn as she waited for his next advance.

Looking at his opponent with his one eye, Kakashi concluded that he needed his Sharingan for this fight. Moving his own headband upward, he quickly revealed the crimson orb as both of his eyes looked at his opponent.

Smirking at this, Chizu looked at him as though he wasn't threat; still holding her same kunai knife, she said aloud, "This is what I've been waiting for. The Sharingan; let's see how you compare with someone like me!" The blonde kunoichi had exclaimed as she charged at him again.

As the Sharingan slowed down her movements, the copy-cat nin watched carefully as he saw her approach him faster and faster. Upon almost striking him once again, the Jounin managed to jump out of the way as he avoided another one of her lightning punches.

'**I see, this lightning storm increases her power.' Thought the Jounin **as he continued to dodge attack after attack.

Deciding to take the battle in his own hands, Kakashi was quick to create a genjutsu with his bloodline limit. Seeing his opponent caught in a daze, the silver-haired Jounin was quick to approach her with his kunai knife, ready to take her life. As he held the kunai near her throat, the blonde kunoichi quickly broke the illusion and used her own kunai to counter.

As both shinobi pushed each other with their kunai, they quickly moved apart and stood across each other on the battlefield.

"I've underestimated you. That was some illusion." Said Chizu as she looked at him with her eyes and carefully assessed his skills.

Still having their gazes locked, the kunoichi was quick to look away as she saw a far away lightning strike hit the ground. Smirking at this, the Hidden Cloud kunoichi was quick to put her kunai away. Looking at her opponent before disappearing from the area, Chizu addressed him with, "It's been fun, but I have somewhere else to be." And with that, she quickly evaporated away from the entire scene.

"Hn." Replied the Jounin as he too put his kunai away and quickly ran back towards the main part of the village.

* * *

"You called us, Kenta-sama." Stated Chizu as she and her other two teammates stood before their superior on top of a building.

"You three set up the seals and activated them right?" asked the white-haired shinobi as he looked at all three of them with his orange eyes.

"Hai!" all three replied at once.

"Good." Kenta said as he quickly grabbed all three of them, holding them up in the air. As his hands glowed red, all three shinobi screamed in pain. Trying to release themselves from his grip, Chizu softly exclaimed, "Wha-what are you doing?"

"Hn…in order for my plan to succeed, there needs to be some sort of sacrifice. My other Jounin are busy fighting, and I don't need you three anymore." Explained the shinobi as he quickly threw their bodies aside, knowing that they were already dead.

"Now it's time for the real fun." Said Kenta as he smirked. Within moments, he quickly bit his thumb and let his excess blood be used to create the final symbol to connect the three seals. A huge bright glow passed through the entire village as all the seals were connected. And as Kenta stepped onto the fourth seal, he quickly felt the power flow into him. His appearance quickly changed into a more demonic feel as he became more robust with bigger legs, arms, chest, and everything along with gaining huge horns that now adorned his head.

Smirking with his newly sharpened teeth, the white-haired shinobi was ready to wreak havoc on the village.

* * *

"Hokage-sama! More and more shinobi are coming! What do we do?!" exclaimed Iruka through the heavy rain as he avoided another attack from a Hidden Cloud nin.

"Keep fighting. Try to lead those who are injured to the hospital." Replied the Third as he used his bamboo staff to push back some enemy ninja.

As everyone fought strongly against the enemy, it was a difficult fight. Several shinobi were severely injured and as the hospital was overcrowded, with few doctors and medics to help, it was chaotic. Many shinobi had already gone down in battle and as their comrades tried to take them to the hospital as fast as possible, it didn't look to bright for those who were severely bleeding nonstop.

* * *

"Koji, look at this." Stated the Hyuuga as both shinobi stood atop of a building. Kneeling down to see the dead bodies, both leaf nin realized that they were the original shinobi that had posed as them.

"They're dead." Stated the Takahashi as he checked for their pulses. "Well that solves our mission."

"Yeah, but why would they die like this? There's no wound marks on them." Said Keiko as she checked over their bodies. Quickly turning on her Byakugan, the Hyuuga was surprised to discover that their chakra networks had ruptured from a powerful force.

"What do you see, Keiko?" asked the male as he turned towards his female teammate to see a worried look on her face.

"Their chakra networks; something went wrong. It looks like as though their chakra was forcefully sucked out of them. And look here, they have a seal on their necks." Responded the Hyuuga as she knelt down to show her teammate the marks on their necks.

"It must be Kenta. I mean who else would sacrifice his own men for his selfish desire." Answered Koji as he knelt down beside her.

"So what do we do now, Koji?" questioned the Hyuuga as both leaf chuunin got back up on their feet.

"You two need to help out on the battlefield." Replied a familiar voice as they turned around to see their sensei.

Seeing him clutching onto his gut, both his students quickly rushed to his side and helped him slowly lean against a railing.

"Kakashi-sensei, you should get this checked out." Stated Koji as he looked at the deep gash.

"I'll be fine. The village needs all the help we can get." The Jounin said as he tried to make it seem as though the wound didn't bother him, but as he tried to move, the Hyuuga saw him flinch a bit.

"Hold on, sensei." Said the Hyuuga as she put her palm over the wound and released green chakra from her palm.

Looking at his teammate in shock, Koji was surprised to see the Hyuuga use healing chakra to heal a wound. Once Keiko had finished and wiped her brow, he turned towards her and raised a brow at her.

As she saw both her sensei's and Koji's confused expressions, Keiko replied with, "Katara taught me some of the basics. Your wound isn't fully healed, but you'll be able to endure the pain."

"Thank you, Keiko. Now come on you two, we have a village to save." Said the Copy-cat nin as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop with his two students closely following him.

* * *

Stopping to take a few more breaths, the Uchiha heiress took shelter under a nearby bush as she finally made it to the village. Still standing outside as she watched from the village gates, Katara knew that they were already under siege.

Widening her eyes as she envisioned the worst case scenario in her mind full of bloodshed and the fear that everyone she loved would die, the Uchiha quickly shook those thoughts away as she tried to focus at the situation at hand.

'**Now just to find a way to get in without getting noticed.' Thought the heiress **as she continued to look ahead and see several shinobi, both leaf and cloud, fight against each other.

As Katara took a few minutes to think through her plan, she quickly scanned through her mind for any type of jutsu that would get her in the village. Within seconds, she was ready with a strategy in mind. **'I don't know if this will work, but it's all I've got.' **She thought as the Uchiha made several quick hand signs. **'Body flicker jutsu!' **

Her body quickly disappeared from the area, and within a few other seconds, Katara stood before her home on top of the Hokage Tower. Looking around to see how much destruction was occurring, she saw several people enter into the hospital and several houses destroyed in the area. As the Uchiha stood on the roof with the rain pouring down on her face as she looked straight ahead, she tightened her fists as she stood before the village. And as she continued to assess the whole situation, Katara felt a wave of determination rush through her and with that, she was ready to jump into action as she quickly jumped down from the tower and made her way towards the battlefield.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! The next chapter will have more action and we'll see how everything plays out! Sorry, this time I don't have a preview for you guys, but I hope that you guys look forward to what's going to come! Please remember to review and I will try to get the next chapter up soon! **

**-Katara**


	25. Chapter 22: The Long Awaited Return pt 2

**Well here's another chapter that I'm guessing you guys have been waiting for. Sorry that I haven't updated in awhile. There was something in this chapter I didn't like, so I actually decided to go back and add more things to it in order to make the chapter more satisfactory for me. But it all depends on what you guys think of it, so hopefully this didn't end too badly. I'm interested in hearing what you guys think of the story and remember to review! **

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**Chapter 22: The Long Awaited Return (part 2)**

"Eight Trigrams, Thirty-two Palms!" exclaimed Keiko as she quickly attacked her opponent. **'2 palms, 4, 8, 16, 32 palms!' **The Hyuuga said in her mind as she quickly finished off blocking her opponent's chakra network. As she quickly pushed the Hidden Cloud shinobi out of the way, she came face to face with four other shinobi that surrounded her.

Looking at her opponents with her Byakugan, Keiko quickly closed her white orbs. As she summoned enough chakra to spread through her chakra points, she quickly released her chakra as her body quickly spun, and created a rotating shield of chakra that tossed the enemy away. Ending the defensive barrier after her opponents lay unconscious, the Hyuuga stood there as she tried to see if any other shinobi were going to attack her.

"Keiko! Look out!" Koji exclaimed as he kicked one of his opponents out of the way to see if his teammate needed his help.

Sensing and seeing a sneak attack that was nearly behind her, Keiko quickly turned around; as the Hidden Cloud kunoichi was about to strike her with a powerful lightning attack, Keiko quickly released a high-speed palm thrust from her palm. As a huge gust of chakra and wind hit her opponent directly, the kunoichi was violently pushed away as Keiko watched the kunoichi's body fall limply into the opposing building.

Once sensing that no one else was around her, Keiko slowly put her arms to her side as she calmed herself down. Still having her bloodline on, she turned towards Koji to see him finishing off one of his opponents.

Both teammates managed to fight through a whole group of Hidden Cloud shinobi and as they both watched their sensei fight off the last of them, they saw that this shinobi was the strongest out of the bunch. As they saw their sensei's chidori get pushed through the man's chest, they knew the battle was over.

Kakashi quickly pulled out his fist from his opponent's body and as he wiped off the blood, he approached his students as he saw that they were both done.

"What now?" questioned the Takahashi as all three shinobi stood in the rain.

"You two should try to find Katara. I'm sure that she'll get herself in trouble. I still have to go out and help the village." Answered their sensei as he picked up his kunai knives and stood beside them.

"Are you sure, Kakashi-sensei?" questioned the Takahashi as both leaf chuunin looked at their teacher with confusion.

"Of course…now you two go ahead and find her. If I know Katara, she's probably gotten herself into some trouble." The Copy-cat nin said as he suddenly disappeared from the area.

"Well you heard him, Koji, let's go." Said the Hyuuga as both nin grabbed their weapons and were about to leave the battlefield.

Still having her Byakugan activated, the Hyuuga looked around the entire village until she spotted a familiar looking kunoichi. "There she is!" exclaimed Keiko as she pointed towards the direction of her teammate. "She's practically on the other side of the village and it looks like she's cornered by five Hidden Cloud shinobi near the Uchiha compound."

"Alright then, let's go." Stated Koji.

* * *

A few moments later, the two leaf shinobi arrived at the scene as they saw the Uchiha desperately fight off the five shinobi. Watching Katara's graceful movements and precision, Koji and Keiko observed from near by as the Uchiha heiress dodged hit after hit.

As Katara was hit directly on the side, both chuunin jumped into action and stopped each of the five shinobi's attacks as they blocked each kick and punch that was aimed at the heiress. Holding them off with kunai and stopping their advances with shuriken, Keiko quickly knelt down to check on her teammate.

"Are you all right, Katara?" questioned the Hyuuga as she helped the Uchiha back onto her feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Replied the heiress as she dusted off some dirt from her clothes and got back onto her feet.

"Good." Replied Keiko as she gave the Uchiha a smile.

Returning a smile of her own, Katara stood beside both her teammates as they stood back to back to each other preparing for another long battle.

"Alright, Keiko you go left, I'll go right, and Katara, you go straight ahead." Stated the Takahashi as he firmly held his kunai knife in front of him.

"Actually Koji," started the Uchiha as she took out her own kunai knife, "I think I'll attack from behind." The heiress quickly said as she came from behind and held Keiko in a head lock with the kunai floating threateningly near the Hyuuga's throat.

"Katara! What are you doing?!" exclaimed the Takahashi as he turned around to face his other teammate.

But as he turned around, Koji realized that the person before him was not his friend, nor his Uchiha teammate. **'So this kunoichi right here disguised herself as Katara in order to trick us. What is she planning?' thought the male **as he observed his new additional opponent hold his friend captive. The Hidden Cloud kunoichi that stood before him wore her platinum blonde hair in a low ponytail along with strange white eyes glaring back at him. As Koji tried to restrain himself from any rash decisions, he watched as Keiko struggled to try to get of the kunoichi's iron grip.

"Hn…I'd love to talk about it kiddo, but I don't have time. Now I wouldn't want you two or that Uchiha brat ruining Kenta-sama's plans, so I decided to take things into my own hands." The Hidden Cloud kunoichi replied as she quickly knocked out the Hyuuga and let her body fall to the ground.

Watching the scene before him, Koji was quick to turn around and avoid a kick aimed for his head. As he created more room away from his opponents, he was quick to throw kunai knives and shuriken attached with paper bombs at his opponents. The force coming from his advance caused him to jump back a few feet and as he did a back flip off a tree, he was quick to block a kick as he ducked down.

Jumping up in the air to avoid a sliding kick that would've knocked him off his feet, Koji was quick to return the favor with a punch of his own. Aiming for a direct attack at his opponent's face, he narrowly missed as said Cloud shinobi grabbed his fist and held it in place.

Glaring at his opponent with his navy orbs, the Takahashi quickly turned his body around and managed to land a kick to his opponent's gut to release him from the shinobi's death grip.

Landing once again onto his feet, Koji jumped back a bit to avoid a barrage of kunai and shuriken that was aimed at him. Looking around him, the chuunin realize he was surrounded; without showing any hint of fear in his eyes, the Takahashi was quick to create several seals for his next move.

"Earth Style: Vines of Wrath!" exclaimed the male as he quickly slammed his palm onto the ground.

Within seconds, several vines sprouted from the grass ground and enveloped themselves around his opponents. Observing his surroundings once again, Koji quickly saw that all the shinobi were now restrained. As he was about to approach the platinum blonde kunoichi, he quickly realized that all the shinobi captured by his vines were clones. Quickly looking around the battlefield again, the Takahashi embraced a kick to the gut as he felt his body fly through the air and stop when his back hit a tree.

Trying to regain consciousness and stand up on his feet, Koji shakingly got up and faced his opponents. Although his vision was a bit blurred from the hit, he was able to make out the kunoichi right in front of him as she towered over him. As he saw her make an advance with a lightning based attack, Koji tried his best to avoid it. But unfortunately for him, one of the five shinobi was quick to hold him down and restrain him as he lay on his stomach.

"Looks like you lost, kid." Miko dangerously said as she pressed a pressure point on his neck, allowing him to fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

Ducking to dodge a kick from her opponent, Katara quickly moved away as she created more space between the two enemies she was facing. Looking at the five opponents that surrounded her, she could tell that just from their demeanor that they were strong.

As one of her opponents quickly disappeared from the area, Katara felt his presence from behind. She quickly turned to see him land a kick onto her side, and as the heiress felt an uppercut land on her chin, she knew that these two shinobi worked well as a team. As she felt her body move upwards in the air, she opened her navy orbs to see her opponents on the ground, making seals for a lightning-based attack. Trying to fight the pain that her side was causing her, Katara quickly threw a paper bomb towards their direction. Before the bomb hit the ground, the Uchiha quickly made hand signs; as she concentrated chakra into her mouth, she quickly felt the chakra turn into a heated fire, and as she turned her body, with her mouth facing towards her opponents, a huge surge of fire shaped as a dragon (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique) burst out from her mouth and caused a huge explosion as it hit her opponents.

Landing on her feet, the heiress looked at her opponents as she saw their burned bodies lay on the wet ground. Breathing to regain her breath, Katara didn't have time as she barely managed to avoid a kunai knife that managed to scrape against her cheek. Feeling the blood slowly drip from her cheek to the ground, the Uchiha turned her navy eyes towards her next opponent.

Katara knew that there were three more Cloud shinobi left and as managed to catch her breathe, she quickly entered back into the heat of battle. Taking out another kunai knife, the Uchiha heiress attacked back with her own barrage of several weapons that were aimed at her opponents.

The speed at which the projectiles were moving at seemed as though they were invisible and despite their attempts at trying to stop them and cancel them out, all three shinobi dropped down dead before her.

Looking around the area, Katara was relieved to finally get a rest. After fighting and traveling nonstop, the Uchiha heiress was glad to have some time to rest before heading out again. But despite everything, the Uchiha found herself before a huge being that now towered over her.

Seeing the monstrous person before her, she barely recognized Kenta as she stood there staring at his new form. But as she felt his chilling-killing aura, she quickly took out one of her own kunai and got ready for a fight against him.

"You've caused a lot of trouble for me, little Uchiha. But it ends here." Kenta said as he slowly approached her.

Trying to keep the distance between them as far as possible, Katara quickly threw some kunai and shuriken towards him. But as the projectile hit him, they were deflected off as he just lifted his arm and protected himself from the weapons. Smirking at her, Kenta quickly disappeared from the area, and reappeared behind her. Unable to even see where he went, Katara felt a powerful punch in her gut as she turned around to face him.

As Katara attempted to get back on her own two feet, the man before her stopped her actions as one more presence entered the area. The kunoichi had caught her eye and as Katara looked at Miko with widened navy orbs, she was shocked to see both her teammates in their grasps.

"What are you doing with them?" asked the heiress as she looked up at Kenta with a death glare.

"Nothing little Uchiha; as long as you do as we say, they'll be spared, but I can't say the same for you." The male answered as he gave her a smirk.

Looking back at her teammates in the kunoichi's grasp, she was quick to get onto her feet and retort back with, "Kenta, they have nothing to do with this; let them go and I'll give you what you want."

Still continuing to smirk at her, he replied with, "Hn…I beg to differ Uchiha. As long as they remain as my prisoners, you will do as I say. Now how about leading us to those sacred scrolls from the Uchiha clan?"

Looking back and forth between the two shinobi, the Uchiha heiress had no choice but to release her grip on her kunai knife, letting it fall to the ground. "Fine; you win, I'll lead you inside the Uchiha compound."

"Katara! Don't do it! It's your job to protect the secrets of your clan! You don't have to do it for us!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she tried to wriggle out of the kunoichi's grasp.

Looking back at both her friends, Katara gave them a softened expression as she turned back to Kenta with a glare only made more threatening with her Sharingan, and responded with, "You promise they won't get hurt?"

"I'm a man of my word." Stated the male as he waited for the Uchiha's response.

Starting to take one step forward, the Uchiha signaled for the two shinobi to follow behind her. "Follow me; it's this way."

* * *

A few moments later, all five shinobi arrived at the old and abandoned Uchiha manor. Making their way down below the ground level, Kenta was amazed at how ancient the hidden library of scrolls appeared. Seeing strange lettering on the walls, the Uchiha heiress was quick to step back and quickly perform a simple fire jutsu to open the stone door.

Once the door opened, Katara was roughly pushed into the room as all five shinobi entered and looked around the extensive library before them.

Smirking once again, Kenta quickly said aloud, "This is amazing. Imagine all the power and secrets that are behind these scrolls, Miko."

"Of course, Kenta-sama; I'm sure we'll crush the village." Answered the kunoichi as she gave him a mischievous smile in return.

As the older male was about to grab a scroll from the many varieties on the shelves, the Uchiha heiress was quick to stop him as she threateningly held a kunai knife near his throat.

Smirking at her again, Kenta showed no fear as he replied with, "Did you forget that we have your two teammates? Or are you just that ready to let them suffer?"

"Hn…" the Uchiha replied as she held the kunai closer to his throat. "Think again, Kenta."

As his orange orbs turned to see what the Uchiha heiress was talking about, both Miko and the male were shocked to find a substitution justu take place that left logs in her teammates' places.

Looking around the area for the two other chuunin, the Uchiha took the time to quickly dispelled her own illusion as she stood before both shinobi in a clearing. Without any hesitation, the Uchiha was quick to slash her opponent's throat. Standing back to see her work, she slowly watched as his body was about to fall to the ground.

The platinum-blonde was quick to appear before her superior's side and as she gave a nasty glare towards the Uchiha, Miko knelt down beside Kenta's body.

Sensing the vibrations around her, Katara quickly realized that the man before her was still alive. Hoping that her senses were wrong, she was shocked to see him get up on his feet and wipe the blood off from his neck as he smirked at her back.

"Th-that's impossible." Stated Katara as she slowly backed away from him.

"You thought it would be that easy, Uchiha?" Kenta taunted as he towered over her again.

Watching his movements closely, Katara saw him quickly grab his comrade and absorb all her chakra before throwing her away to the side.

"How can you be that heartless?" questioned the Uchiha as she glared at him with her crimson orbs.

"It's for my clan's own good. We will restore order whether you like it or not. And if you get in the way, I will not hesitate to kill you." Answered the white-haired male.

"Then I will not hesitate to stop you." Replied the Uchiha as she still continued to glare at him; Katara was quick to make one hand sign and within seconds, the library quickly disappeared right before them.

"What have you done?!" the male exclaimed as he grabbed her by her collar and lifted her up into the air.

Not showing any fear in her navy orbs, Katara replied with, "Nothing; my original plan was to get you two away from my teammates and lead you out here to finish the job. Now we're fighting on a leveled playing field. I managed to create a genjutsu and it worked."

"Interesting, I never realized the Sharingan was this strong. I guess I'll just have to beat the information out of you then, little Uchiha." Kenta replied as he harshly threw her to the ground.

As Kenta was about to land a hit on her while she still was on the ground, Katara quickly rolled out of the way and landed back on her feet. Managing to keep up with his current pace, the heiress blocked a kick from the side that caused her to slightly move a few inches from her original stance.

Trying to protect her bad side from another attack, Katara jumped back a bit to give her some room before using another jutsu to summon her fox. As the smoke disappeared from the area, Morio was quickly by her side. Looking up at her with his emerald orbs, he quickly said, "Glad that I can help you right now, kiddo. So what's the plan?"

Looking back down at him, the Uchiha heiress replied with, "I don't know, Morio. I don't really have a plan in mind. I've never fought against this strong of an opponent and it seems like he's going easy on me and I can barely keep up with him right now. Along with that, I'm at my limit." She had said as she took another kunai from her holster.

"Why do you always get yourself caught up in things like this?" questioned the fox as he shook his head back and forth to show his displeasure with her.

"I guess I have a knack of getting myself into these situations." Responded the Uchiha.

As their conversation ended, both fox and kunoichi jumped out of the way as Kenta charged at them. Leaving a crater at where both had stood, the white-haired male scanned the area with his orange orbs for his opponents. Both Katara and Morio had jumped into the trees and had hid their presences in the forest.

Meeting back once again, the Uchiha heiress quickly sat down and took deep breaths as the golden fox sat before her.

"We're going to need a plan to fight against this guy, Katara. From what I can tell, his chakra levels are beyond what I've ever seen in my lifetime."

"Yeah, tell me about it. It's bad enough that he was strong in the first place, but now he's even stronger." Stated the Uchiha as she took a peek at her opponent from a nearby bush.

* * *

As the Uchiha appeared out of her hiding place, Katara was quick to approach her opponent and try to land a chakra-filled punch on his body. Avoiding the attack as if it was nothing, Kenta decided to take the battle in his own hands. Quickly grabbing her and throwing her into a tree, he quickly appeared right in front of her as she was just getting out of her shocked daze.

Not even giving her enough time to recover from the advance, the Uchiha heiress felt a barrage of attacks come from the shinobi as he continued to hit her everywhere with several kicks and punches until her body made a harsh impact with the ground.

As Kenta stepped away from the huge crater he had just made, he watched in joy as he saw Katara slowly get up again and try to get onto her own two feet. Seeing her hold onto her side in pain, Kenta saw her quickly trying to inject healing chakra onto her side, but without giving her anymore time, he rapidly came beside her and hit her with a lightning punch that skimmed her skin and left terrible burns marks.

Her body was roughly pushed to the ground and as the Uchiha laid there on her good side, she looked to see that her forehead protector now lay on the ground next to her. As she desperately clutched onto the headband, Katara looked up to see her opponent tower over her; looking at her opponent as her eyes were going to close from blood loose, the Uchiha got ready for the final strike.

**'I guess this is where it ends, huh, Haku?' **Katara thought as she tightly clutched onto her headband and saw how Kenta stood before her with a sword at the ready to plunge into her chest.

Without any warning, Katara gave the Cloud nin a smirk as he was about to plunge his sword into her body.

"What are you smirking about?" Kenta asked as he stopped his actions.

"You'll see." Katara quietly whispered as Morio quickly jumped out from the bushes and managed to stick a charm on her opponent's arm. As Morio continued to hang on and annoy the shinobi with his determination to stay on, Kenta desperately tried to shake the fox off. But without any luck, he quickly stepped away from the Uchiha, let go of his sword, and used his other hand to throw the fox out of the way.

"You stupid fox! I'll show you to make fun of me!" exclaimed the white-haired nin. As soon as that charm had come in contact with his body, Katara saw with her Sharingan that it was taking affect; the charm was able to seal some of his chakra reserves and as the Uchiha felt a bit relieved from that, she was frightened to see him take his sword and approach the golden fox. Seeing that Morio was hurt from the impact, the Uchiha attempted to get back up on her feet, despite her own body's resistance.

As Katara tried to fight back the pain from her hurting side, she slowly dragged herself towards her summoning, hoping that she could save him in time.

"I'll teach you not to mess with me!" said Kenta as he slashed with his sword.

As if her body was moving on its own, Katara was able to make it in time and take the hit before it reached Morio. Trying to stop the sword from plunging into her further, the Uchiha was holding onto the sword with her bare hands as she ignored the pain and the endless amount of blood. As Katara fought back the urge to scream, her body quickly collapsed to the ground as the sword was removed from her side.

"Katara!" exclaimed the fox as he came by her side and met her navy orbs.

Petting his soft, golden fur, the Uchiha gave him a sincere smile.

"Why did you take that hit? Did you not realize that you could've sent me back to my world and could've avoided all of this?" questioned the fox as he looked at her with sad emerald orbs.

"Hn…now that I think about it, yes I could've down that, but with what was going on, I panicked for you and had to do anything in my power to protect you." Replied the Uchiha heiress as she continued to smile at him.

"You shouldn't have done that! You're in no condition to do so!" harshly responded the fox as some tears attempted to escape from his orbs.

Continuing to pet him again, Katara replied with, "Ssh, it's all right, Morio, I'll be fine. Now go." Said the Uchiha.

"Are you crazy?! I can't leave you alone with this guy here!" exclaimed the fox as he stopped his tears and looked at her with widened eyes.

"I'll be fine. Now go." Whispered the Uchiha as she started to cough up some blood. Without hearing his own retort, the Uchiha quickly performed the hand sign and sent him back.

Still continuing to lay there, Katara quickly felt her enemy's presence tower over her with a sword in his hands. Not willing to close her eyes, Katara wanted to look at Kenta directly in his face if she died right here. **'I guess this is where it ends.' Thought Katara **as she slowly grabbed onto her necklace and prepared for the next strike.

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**So next chapter, you're going to see some major battling. Sorry for all the so called filler chapters, but it's important to pay close attention to what happens and how everything affects Katara in some way or another. Hopefully you guys understand. If not, just message me and I'll try to explain without giving too many things away. I definitely have plans once the story really kicks into high gear, so I hope you guys look forward to that as much as I do. So I'm just going to end my blurb here since I don't wan tot write too much! Remember to review and thanks! **

**-Katara**


	26. Chapter 23: The Long Awaited Return pt 3

**Hi again! I was definitely happy to be able to update this week and I hope this chapter lives up to your standards. Hopefully that cliff hanger at the end wasn't too long of a wait for you guys to see what would happen next! Please continue to review because they definitely help me know what you guys think of the story and how I can improve. Thanks again! **

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**Chapter 23: The Long Awaited Return (part 3)**

Feeling the pain surge through her, the Uchiha heiress laid on the ground, waiting for the hit to make its mark. As she looked back at her killer into his intense orange orbs, her navy eyes portrayed regret as she saw her own memories.

_Flashback: _

_The sky was a nice, clear, and blue as two Uchihas sat outside of the Royal Uchiha Family's Manor. It was a quiet day like any other and as the sun shone down on the two beings, they both enjoyed each other's company in the silence. _

"_Katara." Said Lord Uchiha as he called his daughter to sit down beside him. The Uchiha heiress quickly sat down beside her father, and as they both looked out toward the training grounds, Katara waited for her father to continue. _

"_You've acted differently." He stated as if it were a fact. As his obsidian orbs turned and met her navy ones, he continued with, "Is there a reason why?" _

"_Otousan…I just feel like everyone in the village acts differently towards me. Is there something wrong with me?" asked the heiress as she looked at her father with her innocent, blue orbs. _

_Petting her softly on her head, Lord Uchiha replied with, "Katara, there's nothing wrong with you; you're a bit different than most others, but that doesn't mean you should feel you're worthless." _

_As Katara heard her father say these words, she couldn't help but remember how all the kids were somewhat scared of her, and ignored her. But that wasn't the worst of it; most of the adults in the village looked at her with disgust and would have treated her like dirt if it were not for her position in the Uchiha clan. _

_Reflecting on those horrible memories, the Uchiha heiress replied with, "Then why does everyone look at me like I'm a monster? Like I'm a nuisance that shouldn't even be alive?" Katara had asked as tears started pouring from her eyes. _

_As she tried to desperately wipe them away, her father stopped her as he softly grabbed her wrist and made her look at him. As his eyes softened and showed concern, he responded with, "I guess it's time that I tell you what's going on, Katara. I thought I'd have more time to talk to you about this, but you need to know this." _

_Abruptly stopping her own flow of tears, Katara was quick to say, "Wh-what is it otousan?" _

_Letting out a huge sigh before answering, and touching his daughter's cheek, Lord Uchiha replied with, "Katara, you have a demon sealed inside of you named Hikari from the moment you were born. Your own great-grandfather gave up his life to seal the demon inside of you just a few days after the nine-tailed kyuubi attack. In order to save our clan, your great-grandfather sacrificed his life in return, hoping that you'd be treated like a hero." _

"_Th-then why is everyone scared of me? I'd never hurt anyone." Stated Katara as she looked back up at her father. _

"_It's complicated, Katara. People fear things they don't fully understand, but I know you'll use your power to protect those close to you, just as I do. As the clan leader, I always am willing to protect the whole clan, especially you, Haku, and your mother." Replied her father. _

_Katara remained silent as she listened to her father's words and as Lord Uchiha waited for her response, after a few more seconds, he decided to interrupt. "Katara, you were given a special gift and I know you have a bright future ahead. You have that strong will, just like your own mother and my strength. Don't let those people break you down because I know that one day, you will earn their full trust and will be treated as a hero." Lord Uchiha had said as he smiled at his daughter. _

"_Arigatou, otousan. I'm glad that you'll always be there to believe in me and protect me." Katara said as she too gave him a smile and hugged him. _

_End flashback. _

'**I'm sorry, father. You were wrong; those people won't get the chance to see me help them and prove them wrong. I won't ever be able to gain their trust. But I don't regret it; I've been able to change some people's outlooks, and I guess that's good enough for me.' Thought Katara **as she gave a small smile.

Watching the sword slowly head towards her chest, the Uchiha heiress was ready to admit defeat. But as she was about to close her eyes from blood loss, a huge light source suddenly occurred before her eyes. As Katara squinted her navy orbs to protect them from the intense light, she saw her own sensei standing with his back towards her as she saw how he managed to land a hit on Kenta with his chidori.

"Katara!" exclaimed Keiko as both she and Koji were both beside her.

"We need to get you to the hospital." Said Koji as he quickly put the Uchiha on his back. "Come on, Keiko."

"I don't think so." Threatened Kenta as he quickly threw some shuriken and kunai at the three chuunin. As the projectiles were about to hit their target, Kakashi quickly deflected them all and once again, stood before the monstrous being.

"I'm your opponent now, Kenta. All of your shinobi numbers are slowly dwindling." Stated the Jounin as he took out his own kunai.

"Hn…I don't think so, Kakashi." He replied as he quickly smashed his sword into the ground. As the ground began to shake, all four leaf nin tried to stabilize themselves. As they all were able to remain on their feet, they saw the effects of Kenta's actions. Looking around the whole area, all four shinobi saw the living dead standing before them.

"I think you are outnumbered, Hatake." Kenta replied as he smirked at the Copy-cat nin. As the white-haired Cloud shinobi waved his hand, all of his new shinobi quickly moved throughout the village; some stood beside Kenta and as he saw that the Takahashi was about to take the Uchiha away, he ordered his shinobi to attack.

"Koji, Keiko, get Katara out of here, now!" exclaimed the Jounin as he charged at his new opponents.

As all three chuunin were about to leave the area, they felt a dangerous aura near them. Seeing Kenta approach them from behind, he quickly kicked her two teammates out of the way. Quickly forming seals, he quickly created a strong, thunder binding, three-sided wall barrier around the Uchiha's form.

"Katara!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she got onto her feet and tried to touch the barrier. As Katara felt herself trapped inside, she tried to destroy the barrier from the inside, but she quickly felt a strong shock of electricity pass through her body. Backing away from the walls, Katara continued to clutch her side as she saw Kenta tower over her again; as he looked at her with his demeaning orange orbs, he smirked at her and whispered, "I'll take care of these three first, and then I'll be back for you."

With that, he quickly backed away from the barrier and turned his attention toward her two teammates. Watching his fast speed outpace her teammates' speeds, Katara watched in horror as she watched them get hurt. Turning to the side, she saw her sensei busy with the other shinobi, and as Katara continued to watch, tears began to pour from her eyes as she felt helpless a second time in her life.

As she dropped to her knees in defeat, the Uchiha turned her navy orbs away from the scene as it became unbearable to watch.

'**I'm worthless. They're both going to die, and I can't do a thing to help them.' **Katara thought as she clutched onto her necklace as her tears continued to hit the ground.

'**You still have a choice, Katara. I can help you.' ****Answered Hikari as she smirked at her container. **

'**And risk you taking over again? I don't think so.' **

'**I can lend you some of my chakra. If you don't accept, your friends will surely die. Do you really want that to happen?'**** asked her demon dragon. **

Wiping her tears, the Uchiha looked at her demon and replied with**, 'Fine, if this is the only way, let's do this.' She had said as the demon's chakra began to envelop her. **

The Uchiha felt the effects of the dragon demon's red chakra as it enveloped her entire being. Feeling her teeth turn slightly into canines and her nails sharpen into claws, Katara's eyes also activated the Sharingan. As a burst of chakra escaped from her body, the strong attack destroyed the barrier the Uchiha was held in.

Moving her fingers, Katara felt the power surge through her as the chakra healed every injury on her body; and as she turned her focus towards Kenta, her anger increased. Before even allowing him to lay another hit on her friends, Katara quickly stood in front of them as she easily caught his fist, and threw him to the ground. Creating a huge crater in the earth, the Uchiha slowly approached him as he got up on his own two feet.

"You're getting on my nerves, little Uchiha. But if you want to die that badly, so be it." Kenta said as he came at her with his lightning sword.

Making several swipes at her, Katara was able to keep up with his fast pace. Carefully watching his movements with her Sharingan, Katara caught the hilt of his sword and managed to get it away from his grip as she kicked him harshly in the gut. Doing a back flip with the sword in hand, the heiress landed on her feet and quickly snapped the sword in half with her knee.

Seeing that angry look on her opponent's face, Katara knew that there were more attacks coming from him. As she watched him form different hand signs, the Uchiha followed suit as she copied his movements.

Both shinobi finished their seals instantaneously, and as both released their jutsus, two huge lightning-manipulated hounds charged at each other. As they both made contact, Katara shielded her eyes as both attacks caused a bright light to appear.

As both attacks ended, both shinobi stood before the other, still unfazed. Kenta quickly disappeared from the area, but as soon as he reappeared the Uchiha was able to block each of his attacks, and she managed to counter with her own. With powerful chakra filled punches and kicks, Katara continued a barrage of her own attacks on her opponent. She quickly managed to hit him into the air, and as the Uchiha quickly flickered her body to where his body was, she swiftly delivered a powerful axe kick to his gut as she sent his body to the ground. Before his body completely made impact, Katara made quick hand signs before releasing a wave of water from the moisture in the air; **'Water Style: Water Shockwave!' **as she unleashed her attack, and a huge amount of water combined with electricity crashed onto her opponent, making Kenta impact the ground much harder.

Once finishing her attack, the Uchiha was back on the ground and the chakra that had surrounded her had slowly disappeared. Hoping that her opponent was out, Katara took a couple deep breaths as she stood up straight and ready to take on Kenta if he chose to get up.

Seeing him move one of his arms, Katara was on alert as she watched him with her bloodline. As crimson red clashed with orange, Kenta was quick to get onto his feet as he clutched onto his gut. Noticing that she managed to severely injure her opponent, Katara found new determination within herself as she realized that she may have a shot at beating him.

Getting into a defensive position with her legs spread apart and hands held before her, Katara waved one of her hands to signal her opponent to come at her. As Kenta took her signal, he smirked at her and quickly charged towards her with a kunai in hand. As her opponent was about to attack her, Katara quickly took out a kunai and charged at him as well. Both shinobi remained at a standstill as each one tried to gain the advantage. As both shinobi were still unwilling to give up, they both stood face to face, with only two kunai knives separating them.

"Give it up, Uchiha. You can't win. You're chakra reserves are running out." Stated Kenta as he looked at her.

Giving him a smirk of his own, Katara formed several hand signs with her free hand and was quick to retort with, "I don't think so." And with that she quickly unleashed her attack (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet) as a dragon-like head appeared from the ground and shot several concentrated mud-balls at her opponent. As Katara watched his form get pushed back, the heiress kept up her attack as it bought her some time. Turning her gaze towards her comrades, her eyes softened as she saw them watch her with awe on their faces.

As Katara turned away and replaced her softened expression, she focused on concentrating a huge amount of chakra in her right palm. **'Alright, this is for you, Keiko, Koji, Kakashi-sensei, and for the Hidden leaf Village.' Thought the Uchiha **as a red glowing orb of chakra emerged on her palm. Looking at the technique that was now held in the palm of her hand, the Uchiha saw that her own fire nature element was combined with the rasengan. Looking at her opponent, she saw that Kenta had moved out of the way from her earth-styled attack. He stood just a few feet in front of her and held his palm towards the sky. As Katara watched him gather the lightning from the storm, she quickly realized that he was creating a powerful bolt of electricity. Without any hesitation, both shinobi rushed at each other and within seconds, both shinobi, Leaf and Cloud, clashed.

Both attacks hit the other with full force and as Katara aimed for his chest, she slightly flinched as she felt his attack surge through her body.

Both collisions caused both of them to be pushed away. And as Katara felt her body hit the back of a tree, she looked up in time to see that her opponent was also down for the count as well. Katara was relieved to see that her opponent was now done; she was glad that Morio was able to attach that charm onto Kenta's arm because the Uchiha heiress knew that she was nearing her limit.

Looking around, Keiko and Koji both realized that Kenta's own shinobi suddenly disappeared and as they both got up onto their feet, they quickly rushed to the Uchiha's aid.

As they knelt before her, they both put their hands forward as they tried to get Katara on her own two feet. Ignoring the help, Katara clutched onto her side, and stood on her feet on her own. As both teammates slowly followed beside her, just in case she fell, Katara approached Kenta's weakened form and saw that he was still breathing. His orange eyes still penetrated her crimson orbs, and as she knelt down with a kunai knife to deliver the final blow, her sensei quickly appeared by her side.

Touching her shoulder, Kakashi gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Katara, you can stop now. It's over. I'll take care of the rest." And with that the Uchiha slowly fell down as she felt both her teammates catch her before she hit the ground.

As both Keiko and Koji now sat beside her, they both praised her for her skill and courage.

"That was amazing, Katara!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she wiped some hair away from her friend's face.

"Very impressive!" exclaimed Koji as he held the Uchiha's hand as Katara looked up at the sky and gave them both a sincere smile.

"I-it was all because of you guys." Softly replied Katara as she looked at them with her normal navy orbs.

"Arigatou, Katara-chan." Said both teammates as they smiled down on her.

Seeing both of them safe, the Uchiha looked at them both and took both their hands as she continued to lay on the wet ground.

"Hey Koji, the rain stopped." The Hyuuga stated as she looked around and saw that the dark clouds were slowly disappearing. And as one stream of light broke through the darkness, it shone down on the Uchiha heiress's body as she slowly let the exhaustion take over as she closed her navy orbs.

"Katara! Wake up!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she was worried that the Uchiha was slowly slipping away from them.

"Calm down, Keiko." Said the silver-haired Jounin as he approached the three. "She's just tired. Here, we'll all take her to the hospital." Their sensei had said as he carried her in his arms. Koji and Keiko followed beside their sensei and as the darkened storm clouds slowly disappeared, Team 7 was making their way towards the Konoha Hospital.

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**Please remember to review! :) **

**-Katara **

**After that ending, the story's actually just starting believe it or not. I definitely know what direction I'm going to take this story and hopefully it all works out. Well I guess that's the end of the mission; hopefully it was a good ending? Tell me what you thought of it :) The next chapter will show the aftermath of everything and I hope you guys were able to get some foreshadowing from this chapter, especially from the flashback. But I don't want to give too much away, so until next time, I hope to hear from you guys soon! **


	27. Chapter 24: The Long Awaited Return pt 4

**Well, here's the final installment of their mission! Hope you guys enjoyed the mission from the beginning to the end. And like I said before, there was some foreshadowing in the last chapter, so if you paid attention, I hope you guys will be able to figure out what sorta happens. But if not, you'll see in this chapter! I was really excited to write this chapter because I finally have time to actually update more and think of more ideas. **

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Chapter 24: The Long Awaited Return (part 4)

Several beeping sounds could be heard as machines were monitoring the patient's breathing and heart beat. As several nurses and doctors finished looking over the Uchiha's injuries, one nurse came outside of the room to address the rest of Team 7. Looking at them with seriousness written all over her face, the nurse started with, "Well I can tell you that Katara's very lucky. The type of stress she's put her body through could've been severely life-threatening. She's sustained several burn marks on her body and has managed to fracture several bones in her body." Still looking at her teammates and sensei, the nurse's gaze softened as she continued with, "But luckily, she'll be fine. She's a lucky one. It seemed as though most of her major injuries were already healing when we were looking her over. As for now, just give her time to rest. When she gets out of this hospital, she's going to need to stay in bed for awhile." The nurse had said as she was about to leave. Before allowing the nurse to take another step, Keiko quickly jumped in and said, "Wait! Is it alright if we come to see her?"

Turning around to address the Hyuuga, the nurse nodded at her and opened the door to the Uchiha's room.

Team 7 quickly entered into the room and as they saw their comrade connected to several machines and with several bandages on her body, they were just relieved that their teammate would be fine.

Koji, Keiko, and Kakashi all fully entered the room and as they moved their chairs towards Katara's bedside, all three of them got up from their seats and placed a vase full of white cherry blossoms on the bedside table.

As all three leaf shinobi stood there, Keiko said aloud, "I know how much you like cherry blossoms, Katara, so I hope you enjoy them."

"You've done a lot for us. Keiko and I that is." Said Koji as he placed his flower in the vase.

"Despite all my warnings not to overexert yourself, Katara, you still choose not to listen." Sighed Kakashi as he looked at his student. "But, you're turning out to be a great kunoichi. And I'm proud to be your sensei."

* * *

A few days later:

After the day of the invasion, everyone had tried hard to rebuild the Hidden leaf Village. Although most of the places were just rubble, several villagers, along with the shinobi pitched in to help around the whole village. People were rebuilding structures and helping raise the funds needed to help those in need.

Several honorable shinobi had lost their lives in the attack, and as a memorial was held for them a few days back, the memory of the attack would always remain.

It had become a regular routine for Team 7 to visit Katara every day. It didn't seem that she was waking up anytime soon and as Team 7 met up again at Katara's door, the Hyuuga slowly turned the knob and all three entered the room with even more white cherry blossoms.

They all took their seats at Katara's bedside and as they watched her calmly sleep in the bed, Keiko removed a strand of hair that was out of place as she pushed it back in place.

Sitting there in silence, no one said as word as they continued to hear the insistent beeping from the heart monitor. As they suddenly watched the heart monitor increase in pace, both Koji and Keiko began to panic until they saw their teammate slowly wake up. All three shinobi got onto their feet and circled Katara's bed. As the Uchiha heiress slowly opened her navy orbs and shielded her eyes from the intense light with her arm, she gave them a relieved smile as she saw her most precious people standing above her.

Katara could see her teammates and sensei slightly tear up and as she watched the Hyuuga cry first, she wasn't surprised to see Keiko hug her.

"Keiko, it's nice to see you too, but you're hurting me." Pointed out the Uchiha as Keiko quickly let her go.

Wiping her tears away, the Hyuuga replied with, "It's just I'm so happy you're here."

"It's nice to have you back, Katara." Said the Copy-cat nin.

"It's nice to be back, Kakashi-sensei." Stated the Uchiha as she looked around the room. Seeing a room full of white cherry blossoms, she gave all of them a sincere smile as she realized that the flowers came at different times. "Did you guys visit me everyday?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't we? We didn't want you to feel alone. And like you said, we're a team, and we should always stick together." Replied Koji.

"Arigatou, Koji-kun, Keiko-chan, and Kakashi-sensei." The Uchiha said as she enjoyed looking at the flowers. And as the Uchiha was about to say something else, her stomach quickly growled and both her teammates sweat dropped as it totally ruined the moment. Sheepishly scratching the back of her head and holding onto her stomach, Katara replied with, "Do you guys happen to have any food with you guys? I'm really hungry."

"What about we get some Ichiraku, ramen? I'll be my treat." Said Kakashi as he looked at the Uchiha's navy orbs widen in surprise.

"That would be great, Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed the Uchiha as she embraced him with a hug.

* * *

As Team 7 was making their way out of the hospital, they were abruptly stopped by a nurse as she was surprised to see the Uchiha out of bed.

"Uchiha Katara! You're not scheduled to leave this hospital until five days later. You get back to your room and stay there!" the nurse exclaimed as she grabbed Katara by the arm and tried to drag her back.

"B-but I'm fine. Look!" exclaimed Katara as she removed her wrist from the nurse's grasp and began to walk regularly around the waiting room.

Carefully observing her, the nurse finally gave in and said, "Fine, but I want you to stay in bed for another week. No missions or training. You should stay with someone that can take care of you."

"She'll be staying with me, miss." Interrupted the Copy-cat nin as he quickly took Katara away from the situation as all the members of Team 7 left the hospital and made their way towards the ramen stand.

* * *

"That was really amazing, Teuchi-san!" exclaimed the Uchiha as she finished off her seventh bowl.

"I'm glad you like it so much, Katara. All of this is on the house!" exclaimed the ramen owner as he continued to fill out people's orders.

As her two teammates looked at her as if she were crazy, they couldn't imagine how much she could eat. Her sensei even was shocked at her huge appetite and as he watched her eat another bowl, they all were quickly relieved as she finished her eighth bowl and stopped.

As Team 7 left the stand, they all said good-bye to Teuchi and Ayame. For the rest of the way, all four shinobi traveled the same way until they crossed the road that divided into different paths. As Koji and Keiko said their good-byes, they quickly took a different path towards their homes. As Katara and Kakashi stood there watching them, the Uchiha was broken out of her daze as she saw her sensei move towards the other path.

Although Katara didn't want to admit it, she was extremely tired and as she slowed down her pace, Kakashi didn't fail to take notice. As he quickly appeared beside her, he quickly scooped her up in his arms, and carried her all the way to his home.

Opening the door to his apartment, the Copy-cat nin silently entered into his guest room and as he was about to set the Uchiha heiress on the bed, he realized that she was already asleep. Seeing that soft and peaceful expression on her face, his face quickly softened as he slowly tucked her in and ruffled her hair in her sleep. **'You put up a tough fight, Katara. You should be proud. You're parents and Haku would be proud.' Thought Kakashi **as he turned off the lights to her room.

* * *

The next day:

Katara opened her navy orbs as she felt the sun shine down on her face. Looking around a strange room, the Uchiha was about to panic until she realized that she was in her sensei's apartment. Just as she was about to get up and get ready for the day, the silver-haired Jounin quickly entered her room with a new set of clothes.

"I thought you might want to wear a clean set of clothes for today. And the Hokage wants to see you as soon as you're ready. I'll escort you there." Said Kakashi as he handed her clothes.

"Arigatou, Kakashi-sensei." The Uchiha said as he smiled at him. Giving his own smile in return, the Copy-cat nin quickly left the room and allowed her the chance to change, re-bandage her wounds, and check her injuries. Quickly pulling a gray, long-sleeved top over her head, and putting on some black ninja shorts, Katara quickly braided her shoulder-length hair into one braid and tied her headband around her forehead. Liking her new look as she looked in the mirror, the heiress rushed out of the room and saw that her sensei was patiently waiting for her.

"Come on let's go." Said Kakashi as he offered her his back to ride on.

Giving him a pout, the Uchiha replied with, "Kakashi sensei! I can walk." She had said as she was about to take a step forward, but was quickly forced onto his back as they both made it to the Hokage Tower in record time.

As Katara landed on her feet, both shinobi entered into the Hokage's office. Seeing that he was still doing paperwork, Katara waited patiently as he abruptly put his pen down and looked at both shinobi.

"Ah, you two are here, now we can begin." Said the Third as he got up from his seat and motioned them to follow.

"Hokage-sama, where are we going?" questioned the Uchiha as she felt him grab her wrist and pull her with him.

As Katara got no response, she turned towards her sensei to see if he knew anything about what was happening, but unfortunately, he remained calm and collected like usual; therefore, she just decided to just wait and see what was going to happen.

They quickly made it up a few more steps and as the Hokage and Kakashi arrived at the top of the roof, Katara was the last one to get on. Standing on top of the tower, Katara felt the breeze hit her face and keep her at peace. As she as about to ask what she was doing here, she turned around and saw her teammates, along with several other Jounin, standing up there as well.

Quickly running towards them, Katara gave them a hug. As the embrace ended, the Uchiha turned towards both of them and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Katara, look." Said the Takahashi as he pointed straight ahead.

Looking down from the tower, the Uchiha heiress saw all the villagers standing there as they looked up towards the tower.

Hearing the Hokage clear his voice, all three members of Team 7 turned towards their Hokage as they waited for what he was about to say.

"Now we all know that several lives were lost during this invasion, but throughout this mess, our shinobi managed to find their own Will of Fire. We have lost countless shinobi, but we managed to pull through and save our village. And as we all continue to rebuild our home together, I would like give thanks to Team 7, Kakashi's team, made up of Hyuuga Keiko, Takahashi Koji, and Uchiha Katara; the Hidden Leaf Village will be forever grateful towards you three for protecting this village. You three are the exact reason why this village is still standing. We are in debt to you three. Hyuuga Keiko, thank you for your courage and talent; Takahashi Koji, thank you for your resourcefulness and quick thinking. And as for you Uchiha Katara, you went against my command to get help and not pursue this mission as a solo mission; you've nearly destroyed half of the village in the process, but you've saved us all from a terrible defeat; we all thank you." Said the Hokage as he slowly bowed.

Looking around the area, the Uchiha felt everyone on top of the roof bow to her too and as she looked down, she also was shocked to see the villagers follow suit.

"You have saved us all, Katara and have proven that your courage and determination is impeccable. And I thank you." Finished the Hokage as he looked at her with sincere eyes.

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama, but I was just doing what I felt was right. I said I'd never go back on my word, so here I am." Replied Katara as she smiled at the Third.

Returning her smile back, the Hokage gave a chuckle and replied with, "You've done more than that. I'm glad that Kakashi entrusted you as the leader of that mission." The Hokage had said as Katara felt the whole audience below the building applaud for her great effort. Looking around, the Uchiha heiress also took notice that those important shinobi on the roof were applauding her as well. Never in her life did Katara believe that her life would change as quickly as this; she had always felt that the village rejected her at every chance she tried to prove to them that she wasn't a monster, and for once in her life, the Uchiha felt that deep hole of hurt slowly heal itself. Just looking up into the sky, Katara could tell that her life was changing as she watched the sun shine brightly down onto her.

* * *

"I did it, father." said Katara as she silently placed several white lilies on her father's grave and gave him a small smile. As the Uchiha heiress stood before the graves of her family, she couldn't help but smile as she somehow felt their presence standing right beside her. It was the first time that the Uchiha had come here without crying, and as Katara looked back at her father's tombstone, she softly traced each word as she thoughtfully looked at the words: _"Strength is the will to carry on; the will that you find within yourself, is your strength." _

_**'I've finally managed to convince everyone that I'm not a monster. Is this what you saw in me, father? Is this the reason why you pushed me so hard to prove them wrong?' thought **_Katara as she continued to stand in front of her father.

"Thank you, for everything. You've guided me throughout my whole life, and you're still doing that. Without you, I don't know what I would do. But I know now that you'll always be there." said Katara as she felt a soft breeze past through the air and gently touch her on the cheek. As the Uchiha heiress touched her cheek, she quickly smiled, and slowly left the area as she looked back and imagined her father, mother, and brother, smiling back at her.

* * *

Making her way throughout the village, the Uchiha heiress quickly entered into her favorite eating place and quickly took a seat. As Katara let the aroma of the ramen envelop her nose, she saw Ayame make her way towards her.

"Hey Katara, so what would you like today?" asked the brown-haired girl as she approached the Uchiha.

"Just some miso ramen, Ayame." Katara answered as she gave the girl a small smile.

"All right then! One miso ramen coming right up!" exclaimed the girl as she went back to give the order to her father.

After several minutes of waiting for her food, Katara saw that someone had placed her order right before her, and as Katara quickly broke her chopsticks, she was quick to dig in. As she enjoyed the flavor of her soup, she quickly wiped her mouth with a napkin before continuing to eat once again.

"Well, if it isn't the great heroine of the Hidden Leaf Village." said Teuchi as he was cleaning a bowl.

"Arigatou, Teuchi-san. But I don't think I deserve that much credit." replied Katara as she stopped eating and waited for his response.

"You're too modest, you know? You've done so much for this village. You're a hero here! I knew you had it in you kiddo!" exclaimed the old man as she gave her a smile.

"Arigatou." answered the Uchiha as she went back to her food.

As Katara continued to eat to her heart's delight, she was quickly interrupted as she turned to her left and saw a small boy with black hair holding out a book and a pen for her. Raising her eyebrow as she still had a mouthful of ramen in her mouth, she quickly swallowed everything and turned towards the little boy. The boy was about five years old and as Katara saw that he was accompanied by an older looking man, she addressed the older man with, "Umm...Hi there! So what can I do for you?"

"Sorry about this, my son's a huge fan of yours, and he really wanted an autograph." the man replied as he was scratching the back of his head in embarassment.

"Oh, that's no problem. Sure thing." answered the Uchiha heiress as she took the pen and paper from the little boy and quickly signed her name. Once returning the autograph back to the boy, she saw him give her a quick smile.

"Arigatou, Uchiha-san." replied the older male as he bowed to her.

Looking at the black-haired boy, Katara saw that the child bowed to her as well, and as he lifted his head to meet up with her eyes, he too said, "Arigatou, Uchiha-san!" He had said as he gave her a smile and hugged her.

Surprised at the sudden action, it took the Uchiha a few more moments to return the hug back. And as the embrace ended, Katara quickly patted the boy's hair, and replied with, "It's Katara, kid. Just call me Katara no need for san or sama, or anything like that." She had said as she smiled at him.

Looking back up at her, the boy answered with, "Arigatou, Katara."

"No problem." Katara said as she went back to eating her ramen.

**'Amazing; the village really is accepting her. Just to think that a few weeks ago, everyone was cold to her, but now, they see that she's a hero.' thought Teuchi** as he reflected back at the Uchiha's life and slowly smiled as he saw the scene right before him unfold.

* * *

As the Uchiha heiress just finished taking a walk around the village, Katara was resting peacefully nearby a lake near the Uchiha compound. As she let the sun warm her body up, she felt a familar presence nearby; without turning around, Katara was quick to say, "I didn't think I would see you this soon, Sasuke." She had said as she patted the grass spot next to her and gave her friend a smile as he sat down beside her.

"Well, I couldn't really find you. It took awhile seeing that everyone's looking for you. I figured you'd be here." replied the Uchiha as he turned to face her.

"You know me too well, Sasuke." answered Katara as she gave him another smile. "So what have you been up to? I must've missed a lot since I've been gone for awhile."

"Nothing really. Just more training. Nothing new." stated Sasuke as he looked across the horizon.

Looking back at her friend with her navy orbs, Katara was quick to reply with, "Oh...why don't you find some friends to come along and train with you? I mean, it must be lonely to be training on your own. I mean, I was always there to help you, but I don't think I'll have that much time on my hands. So why don't you try making some more friends?"

"I don't really need them. I'm at the top of my class; besides, they'd be a burden to me, especially that Uzumaki kid." replied Sasuke as he looked at her with his obsidan eyes.

"Oh come on Sasuke, he can't be that bad. Plus, I heard he's been an orphan ever since he was born; you should give him more credit and try to be friends with him." said Katara.

"I'd rather not. He's the class fool and is the most loud-mouth person I've ever met." retorted the Uchiha as he looked at Katara as if her suggestion was something crazy.

"Ever think that he's only pulling those jokes to get attention? I mean, I was almost like that; I always wanted someone to acknowledge me because everyone always treated me differently. Maybe that's the same for him. Maybe if he had a friend to turn to, he'd be better off. I know I was when I met you, Sasuke." replied the Uchiha heiress.

"Hn...So you visited your family today" stated the Uchiha as he changed the subject and turned his attention back to the horizon.

"Yeah, I did." replied the heiress as she smiled at the memory. "It was nice; it was the first time I've felt I've gotten some closure. And I feel like a part of me can move on."

"How so?" questioned Sasuke as he turned his attention back to her.

"My father's always told me that I would be able to change people's outlook on me, and I guess I've been able to do that. Plus, I realize now that I'm not alone." replied Katara. "I now know that I'll always have team, my sensei, and you there for me."

"That must be a nice feeling to have, Katara." stated Sasuke as he turned to look at her.

"It is...and I just want you to know that I'll always be there for you, Sasuke; don't you ever forget that." Katara said as she held her hand out. As Sasuke also moved his hands towards her, both Uchihas shook on that promise.

After a few more moments of silence, Katara had let out a huge sigh, and replied with, "It's almost dinner time. Let's go get something to eat; it will be my treat." Katara had said as she got up onto her feet and offered her hand to lift the other Uchiha up. As Sasuke accepted, both Uchihas were now both on their feet and slowly made their way around the village. As both Sasuke and Katara stopped at the ramen stand, the Uchiha heiress couldn't wait to dig in.

* * *

After a full day of celebrating with her friends and old teachers from the academy, the Uchiha was peacefully walking through the village as she looked at the stars in the dark sky. As she passed through, she felt a new attitude that was pointed at her. It was no longer of hate or disgust, but it seemed like pride and joy. And as Katara turned the corner, she couldn't help but smile as she heard one person whisper, "She's definitely the pride and joy of the Uchiha clan; they should be proud."

Quickly making her way to a green, lush, and colorful flower field, the Uchiha slowly laid down on her back, looking back at the starry night sky. And as Katara lay down on the soft flower field, she looked up at the bright moon and held onto her necklace as she thought, **'I hope you're proud of me Haku.' **

* * *

**Don't worry! The story's actually not over yet. Like I said before, these chapters were meant as a sort of 'filler' just to show you how events in her life greatly affect her, so there will be more chapters before this story actually ends. I'm excited to get back to writing more and I can't wait to update again! Oh, by the way, I just wanted to make you guys aware that the next chapter will have a time skip of about 2.5 years, so Katara will be 9 years old, while her teammates will be around 12; in that way, the real story can start! :] **

**Please remember to review! Thanks! **

**Ja ne! **

**-katara **

**Oh and for all those loyal reviewers out there, here's a sneak peak of what's going to come: **

"Welcome back!" Izumo and Kotestsu said aloud as Team 7 entered through Konoha's gates.

Team 7 gave a nod of acknowledgement to them and after all the greetings, Katara handed them the information to give to the Third Hokage. Feeling like they hadn't been home in awhile, all three members of Team 7 quickly headed off to Ichiraku Ramen to meet up with their sensei, which was a regular routine for them after every mission they finished together. Katara's eyes widened as she had another ominous feeling as if someone was watching her, but she quickly shook it off as they arrived at the homey ramen stand.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" yelled the Uchiha as she went up to give him a big hug. Their old sensei chuckled at her childish antics, but still hugged back. "You know you guys no longer have to call me sensei; it makes me feel older."

"Well, sensei," Keiko said, adding an extra emphasis on the word 'sensei', "we're just so used to calling you that, we can't help it!" the Hyuuga chirped excitedly.

"Well, let's get to eating." Replied their silver-haired sensei as Team 7 sat down to enjoy a nice dinner.


	28. Chapter 25: A Vision of Uncertainty pt 1

_'Dream' _

**Well here's the new chapter! Please keep in mind that this is about a 2.5 year time skip, so Katara's 9 years old, while Keiko and Koji are about 12 years old. This is where the story actually really starts rolling, but I have to say that there isn't that much action in this chapter because it's more of a filler of how her life has changed during the time skip and how she's living her life. Just keep in mind that things will get interesting soon! **

**

* * *

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Chapter 25: A Vision of Uncertainty (part 1)

**Two and a Half Years Later: **

"We're almost there you guys." Said an Anbu as the three members of the platoon were jumping from branch to branch.

"Ready to arrive home?" questioned the male member as he turned towards both his teammates.

"Definitely; it's been awhile." Replied the youngest member as she looked straight ahead and saw the large gates of Konoha staring back at her.

Three Anbu of the Leaf Village were currently on their way back home from a long mission of collecting information. After about a year, Team 7 was again recruited to work on a mission together; for about three years, they've become stronger beyond their wildest dreams. The year before, they managed to pass the Jounin exams. Team 7 was a squad that never failed at their assignment and currently they were returning to their home from a long year's work of attaining information on Orochimaru's whereabouts. They've only been able to collect some information that may come of some use, but other than that, they couldn't wait to come home.

The Hyuuga had managed to create a name for herself within her clan and after a few years of hard work, she became stronger and learned some medical jutsu on the way.

As for the Takahashi, he continued to excel in what he put his mind to and as he mastered his bloodline, a year before, he was chosen as Morino Ibiki's subordinate. After being under the wing of such an amazing torturer and investigator, Koji had learned several ways to gain information from enemies, especially by using his kekkei genkai.

The little Uchiha they once knew was no longer little anymore; she recently just turned nine years old and she definitely became much stronger, in fact, she was now an Anbu captain, now leading the mission they were currently on. She now was taller and older, and she grew out her hair longer, so that it was manageable enough to put into a ponytail. She was now adorning the Anbu uniform with a fox mask on, while her female comrade was wearing a cat mask, and her male teammate was wearing a tiger mask. Personality wise, both her teammates were the same, but Katara suffered a lot from the hardships in her life, especially the massacre of her clan and that now, her best friend, Sasuke, no longer cared for her along with Akeno leaving her; Sasuke was just now more determined to get revenge and ignored her each time she tried to help him. After a few years after that, for a moment, she couldn't laugh or smile, the light from her eyes was gone and she always wanted to be left alone; she always requested missions to get her mind off of things and it seemed all hope was lost of getting their friend and comrade back.

_Flashback: _

_Uchiha Katara was passing through the training grounds on a dark, gloomy day while kicking a pebble on the ground as she walked. As she came upon her old training grounds, back in the day when she and Team 7 were genin, she saw a familiar shadow and a familiar presence not too far away. As she came closer to the presence, she noticed that it was her best friend, Uchiha Sasuke. From what she observed, she saw that he had been practicing for awhile since a severe amount of sweat was glistening off his forehead. Even though Sasuke hadn't even graduated from his class yet, he proved to be just as talented as any Uchiha, and while she observed him, her thinking process was disrupted by a voice, "Katara…what do you want?" _

_Getting up from her hiding spot, she quickly went up to her best friend as he stopped with his physical exercises. She could sense a cold, distant presence surrounding him as she came up to him, but she ignored it and replied with, "Sasuke, I….I just wanted to make sure you're alright. Listen, if you want, I can help you; you don't have to go through all of this alone. You know that I'm always here for you," she replied as she opened her arms, hoping that he would accept her hug. _

_Shaking it off as if it were nothing, the cold-hearted Uchiha responded, "I don't need your help. I need to get stronger. I already promised you, that I'm doing this for the both of us. I'll do it without your help." _

_That statement struck a hard note in the heiress's heart as she looked deeply at her friend and wondered where the happy, smiling boy she once knew was in this body. Trying not to let the tears fall down from her eyes, she wiped them away with her hand, and said back, "All you ever do is train. There's more to life than that! You've just turned into this cold-hearted person that doesn't even care anymore. You expect me to stand back when my best friend is slowly disappearing?" _

_There was silence once again; the Uchiha couldn't answer Katara's question, so she continued as tears started to pour with, "This whole revenge plan is destroying you on the inside, Sasuke. I want to know where my best friend is. All I want is for him to come back. I know you're not happy, but I'm willing to do anything to get my old friend back. We've been through so much together, and I don't want to lose you, but it seems like I am." _

"_That person you knew, he let this whole thing happen. And he's gone now. There's no turning back. That person was weak and lacked hatred, but now I'm stronger." Sasuke started until he was interrupted, "No! You're wrong! Hatred doesn't make you stronger. The strength that comes from love makes you strong; the strength to be willing to do anything to protect the ones that are precious to you, that is strength" Katara said as her tears dried up and as she calmed down and looked at his face directly to see if her words had any affect. _

_It seemed that the Uchiha wasn't fazed when he replied with, "I'll become stronger one way or another. You should be the one who wants revenge too! He took everything away from you! How can you just stand there and act like nothing happened?" Sasuke's temper was intensifying as he also looked directly at her. _

"_Why? You want to know why? Because I believe that there's a good heart inside of him, just like how I believe there's a good heart in you as well! Sure, he took everything away from me, but I still have something that he can never take away." The Uchiha heiress answered. _

"_What is that?" questioned Sasuke with a curious tone. _

"_Self-control; he'll never get this from me. You don't realize it but you're letting him win by playing into his game. You don't need revenge." Replied Katara. _

"_Easy for you to say….." stated the Uchiha male. _

"_Listen, Sasuke, Itachi was someone we put our full trust into, and it's just disappointing at how the person you trust the most, is the one that ends up hurting you. But it's time to move on." Stated the Uchiha heiress. _

"_How can you say that? Did you forget what he did? Let alone, don't you want revenge for your cousin, Obito, when he died because of Orochimaru?" questioned the onyx-eyed boy._

_Sasuke definitely managed to strike a nerve and as her fists tightened up at her sides, she couldn't help deny that she did feel hatred towards that snake, but she slowly responded with, "I didn't forget; I do have hatred towards that snake, but I'm not willing to let him control my life. My cousin would want me to live a happy life and continue on, even if he wasn't there with me. And I know, deep in my heart that you're parents would want that for you." _

_Silence overcame both Uchihas again as Sasuke looked at his best friend and said, "Maybe that's the path you've paved for yourself, but it's too late for me. I've chosen a road that I can't run back on. One way or another, I will attain revenge for the both of us." _

_Katara stood there in silence as his words replayed in her head over and over again. Then, in mere minutes, Sasuke slowly left the training grounds, leaving her alone to think through her own thoughts. _

_End of Flashback. _

But then a year before, she changed; it seemed like that Katara was finally back; she now trained harder than ever before, but Katara herself knew that she wasn't truly herself anymore. She knew if someone looked at her eyes, when she smiled or laughed, they would know how much pain she was in; truthfully, she only pulled this act to make the people around her happy. But now to others, it seemed like she was back to her outgoing, happy self.

"Kay?" asked Keiko.

"Yeah, Keiko?" asked the heiress.

"Well, we're at the gate now, and you didn't move an inch." Stated Koji.

"Oh, haha, sorry, let's go in." replied Katara as she and her teammates were laughing together, like old times.

"Welcome back!" Izumo and Kotestsu said aloud as Team 7 entered through Konoha's gates.

Team 7 gave a nod of acknowledgement to them and Katara handed them the information to give to the Third Hokage. Then they headed off to Ichiraku Ramen to meet up with their sensei, which was a regular routine for them after every mission they finished together. Katara's eyes widened as she had another ominous feeling as if someone was watching her, but she quickly shook it off as they arrived at the homey ramen stand.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" yelled the Uchiha as she went up to give him a big hug. Their old sensei chuckled at her childish antics, but still hugged back. "You know you guys no longer have to call me sensei; it makes me feel older."

"Well, sensei," Keiko said, adding an extra emphasis on the word 'sensei', "we're just so used to calling you that, we can't help it!" the Hyuuga chirped excitedly.

"Well, let's get to eating." Replied their silver-haired sensei as Team 7 sat down to enjoy a nice dinner.

After their dinner, Team 7 took a walk around the village. After not being in her home village for almost a year, Katara felt at home once again; throughout all the traveling she and her team had done throughout the year, the Uchiha heiress had seen several amazing places, but now looking back at it, she never realized how the Hidden Leaf Village was the best place out of all of them.

As the four members of Team 7 reached a dirt path, their sensei was quick to leave the site after saying a quick good-bye.

Looking at the spot where their sensei had just stood, Keiko had let out a sigh, and quickly said aloud, "Figures that Kakashi-sensei would leave that quickly. What do you think he's up too?"

"Who knows…he's probably reading one of his books." Replied Koji as he turned back to his female teammates.

"Well, there's nothing else we can do now. But today was a lot of fun though!" said the Uchiha heiress as she turned around to smile at them.

"I think it's time that we all go home." Stated the Takahashi as he looked up at the moon and took notice that it was getting late. "It's getting late."

"Yeah, Koji's right." The Hyuuga said. "Your home is the closest from here, Katara. So come on, let's take you home first."

Putting her hands up in defense, the Uchiha was quick to respond with, "It's all right you guys; I can walk myself home. Plus you guys live on the other side of town."

"It's not too much trouble, Katara. Plus, this is what friends are for. So come on." Koji replied as he patted her head and took a few steps forward before stopping. "Are you two coming or not?"

Just staring at the back of their teammate, both Keiko and Katara both started moving and within moments, they were walking side by side with Koji as all three shinobi made their way towards Katara's apartment.

* * *

As the Uchiha arrived at the front door of her apartment, she looked down from her building to see her two friends leaving. Seeing them both wave bye to her, the Hyuuga quickly yelled out, "Katara! Don't forget that we have plans tomorrow!"

Letting out a sigh, Koji slapped his palm to his forehead and shook his head in displeasure as he realized Keiko would be waking up the whole neighborhood. Seeing Koji's expression, Katara gave a quick giggle, and leaned over her balcony to say, "I won't forget. I'll meet you guys in the afternoon!"

* * *

Opening the door to her apartment, Katara took in the friendly, inviting environment of her home and as she saw that everything was nice and tidy as she had left it before, she quickly put her things in her room and left to the bathroom. As she washed her face and quickly brushed her teeth, she looked at herself in the mirror and saw that she had changed. Seeing her slightly blank navy orbs staring back at her and her longer hair, Katara was surprised to see that her eyes managed to keep their glowing hue despite everything that has happened to her.

**'Well, at least I know that I'm not a complete mess.' thought Katara **as she quickly dressed in her pajamas and exited the bathroom.

As Katara saw her big, comfy bed, she did not hesitate to jump on it and be glad that it was so soft and nice to land on. She quickly pulled the covers over herself and as she slowly replayed today's events in her head, her mind slowly drove her off to sleep as her navy orbs closed.

_Dream: _

_Running throughout the Hidden Leaf Village, Katara felt as though she were running for her life; as she heard the noise of someone's footsteps following her, she quickly turned around a corner and leaned against the wooden frame of the fence. _

_Peaking out from the corner, the Uchiha heiress found no sight of her follower anywhere near the area. As she put her hand on her heart to slow down her heart-rate, Katara let out a sigh of relief as she somewhat felt safe. _

_Pulling her head back to rest on her knees, the Uchiha took a few more deep breaths to calm herself down. As she lifted her head up and turned to her left, she slowly backed away as she saw a mysterious figure slowly approach her. _

_Still continuing to back away from the strange figure, the Uchiha shrieked in fear as the man quickly took a kunai knife and put it near her throat. As he held her in a head lock, the Uchiha heiress was scared to move an inch; as she slowly turned her head to meet his gaze, she recognized that his eyes were a deep shade of crimson. _

_End. _

Abruptly waking up from her dream, the Uchiha bolted straight up and quickly sat up on her bed. Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her forearm, Katara tried calming herself down as she took deeper breathes and tried to recollect her own thoughts. **'I've had that dream for awhile now; is it trying to tell me something?' **

As the Uchiha sat there in bed trying to figure out her own dream, she quickly tried to put her own thoughts aside as she thought about her schedule for the day. Seeing that she would later meet up with her teammates, it seemed to put her mind at ease.

Despite waking up from a nightmare, Katara quickly put on a smile as she realized that she was home and safe. Quickly jumping out of bed, she rushed into the bathroom to get ready for the day. As she quickly showered, brushed her teeth, and put on a new pair of clothes for the day, she made sure to check the clock before heading out. **'Well, it's about seven right now. I think I'll just check to see if anything has changed in the village.' **And with that, the Uchiha heiress quickly locked the door to her apartment, and jumped from roof to roof until she became satisfied with her surroundings and peacefully sat on the roof of a random building.

As Katara peacefully looked up at the blue sky, she slowly closed her eyes as she let the sunshine warm her body up. All of a sudden, the Uchiha heiress quickly opened her eyes as a chill ran up and down her spine. Turning her gaze to observe her surroundings, the Uchiha heiress found nothing wrong within the area. **'That's funny; I was sure that I felt someone's gaze on me, as if they were following me?' **Shrugging the suspicious feeling away, the Uchiha was quick to return her gaze back to the sky and tried to relax her body.

Looking down at all the people of the village, Katara saw that nothing had changed much; she was glad that things hadn't changed and was also a bit relieved because she was never one that liked to get accustomed to new things. As she quickly spotted her old academy sensei from below, the heiress was quick to jump down from the roof and land in front of him.

"Hi Iruka-sensei!" exclaimed the Uchiha as she smiled at him and gave him a hug before releasing him from her grip.

"You're back so soon, Katara? When did you return?" questioned the chuunin as he looked at his old student.

As both shinobi continued to walk down a dirt path, Katara replied with, "Just yesterday. We had dinner with Kakashi-sensei yesterday."

"I see. Well, it's nice to see that you made it back home in one piece." Iruka said as he smiled down at her.

"Yeah, it's nice to be back. So what are you doing today, Iruka-sensei?" asked the heiress as she looked at her teacher with navy orbs.

"Oh today, I was planning on teaching my students some taijutsu and defensive strategies against them." Replied Iruka. As he looked at Katara, an idea had struck in his head as he took hold of her shoulders and said, "Hey! You can help, Katara! Do you mind showing my students some of your taijutsu styles?"

Looking at her old sensei, the Uchiha slowly replied with, "I-I guess I wouldn't mind. I really don't have anything planned in the morning, so I guess I'll join you."

"Excellent! Well then, let's make our way towards the academy!" exclaimed the chuunin as both shinobi continued their walk.

Mumbling under her breath as she let out a sigh, Katara mumbled, "Great…back to the old academy days again."

* * *

Looking around at her old classroom, memories flashed back in Katara's mind and as she touched the exact seat where she used to sit, she gave a small smile as she remembered all the friends she had made in this classroom.

"Does it seem any different, Katara?" asked Iruka as he set some scrolls on top of his desk.

"No actually, it looks the same. But I like it that way. It just brings old memories back." Replied the Uchiha.

_Flashback: _

_"Hey Katara, are you ready for the first day of school?" asked the Uchiha as he turned towards his sister. _

_"Hai, Haku-nii-san! I'm so excited! We're both going to be just as strong as otousan one day!" replied the hyperactive Uchiha heiress as she turned towards her brother. _

_"Well, that is if we work hard." stated Haku as he gave his sister a smirk. _

_As both Uchihas entered the Hidden Lead Village's Ninja Academy, they both headed towards their assigned room; once entering, Katara noticed that several of these students were much older than them, and as both Uchiha heirs felt stares from several other students, Katara was the first to show her nervousness as she fought down a big gulp in her throat. _

_Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Katara turned towards her brother and met up with his own navy orbs; "We'll be fine Katara. Don't let them intimidate you." He had said as he smiled down at her. _

_"Hai. Arigatou, nii-san." replied Katara as both Uchihas took a seat next to each other. _

_"All right, class begins right now; all of you take a seat." said their sensei as he entered with several papers. Once putting all the papers on his desk, he addressed the class again; "Hello to all my new students! I'm Iruka and I'll be your sensei for the time being you are here at the academy. As you all know, those of you who managed to make it here have the talent and skills to become great shinobi; my task is to provide you with that knowledge and make sure you all hone your own skills. Now to start off the day, I'd like to give you guys a pop quiz to see how much you guys know about the basic ninja skills and regulations. So here you go." Iruka had said as he passed out the quiz to each student. _

_Looking at her own quiz, Katara quickly skimmed it over and without any hesitation, she managed to finish her quiz a few minutes after she had just received it. The same thing occurred with Haku as well and as both Uchihas handed in their quizzes, they sat their patiently as everyone else finished. After everyone was done, all the students waited patiently again as they waited for their sensei to finish grading the tests. _

_As he abruptly got up from his desk, he stepped forward and addressed the class; "Well...I can't say that most of you know the basics, so we have a lot of work to do, but __I do have to say that Haku and Katara, you two really have the basic information down. Good job you two!"Iruka said as he nodded towards the two Uchihas. _

_End. _

"It probably does. I definitely remember your year in the academy here." Responded the chuunin. "Well, we have about 20 more minutes until my students come in, so we might as well wait. Here maybe you'll want to take one of these scrolls to review for the time being." Iruka said as he pointed to the scrolls on his desk.

Slowly approaching his desk, the Uchiha quickly opened the scroll and sat down at her old seat; as she looked at the piece of paper in front of her, Katara slowly became bored and just turned her attention back to looking at the clock. **'Well this is going to be a long 20 minutes.' **

* * *

As several students piled into the classroom, Katara was quick to see that these kids were around her own age. Looking around the room, Katara was able to distinguish some people based on their clans, but other than that, she didn't know anyone.

Katara was currently standing beside Iruka in front of the class and as the class was about to start in about 10 minutes, the Uchiha became frigid as she saw Sasuke enter into the classroom. Slowly freaking out on the inside, Katara thought, **'Just my luck; I should've known I would've seen him again some day.' **She had thought as she closely watched him and saw how mostly every girl in the classroom swooned over him.

As Katara turned her gaze away from the Uchiha, Katara found a familiar blonde-haired boy sitting near the corner. Having a smile grace her lips, she watched Naruto be the same loud-mouthed person she always knew.

A few moments later, Iruka quickly stepped forward, and as Katara watched his movement, she waited for him to start the class. "Alright class, I hope you all have come prepared; today, we'll be learning about basic taijutsu. And as a special treat, I managed to get an old student of mine to show you all; she was one of the rookies of her year, so here's Uchiha Katara." Iruka had said as he directed his hand at the Uchiha, which caused several of the students to look at her.

Feeling all the gazes on her, Katara's navy orbs met with the other Uchiha's; and just as quickly as they had met, the Uchiha heiress turned her gaze away back towards the class. As she heard some whispers of 'there's no way; she's too young' and those sorts of comments, Iruka was quick to silence them with, "I assure you she's probably one of the best out there. So come on, let's head out to the training grounds for a demonstration."

Standing still in her spot, Katara failed to notice that all the students had filed out of the classroom; as Iruka broke her out of her daze, he said, "Katara, you coming?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, gomen, Iruka-sensei." Replied Katara as she too made her way out towards the training grounds.

* * *

As the whole class was now outside, Katara as forced to stand in the middle of the grounds as Iruka explained to the kids what was going to happen. "All right, now I brought everyone out here in order to have a simple demonstration. Would anyone like to volunteer?" **'Please don't be Sasuke, please don't be Sasuke. Anyone but him, Iruka-sensei.' **Thought Katara as she looked at all the group of kids.

"All right, Sasuke, go right ahead." Stated Iruka. **'Oh shoot...just my luck. Kami must really hate me right now.' **thought the heiress as her inner self was sulking on the inside. As Katara's eyes widened in surprise, she quickly hid her shocked expression as she felt the other Uchiha approach her. Looking back at her old friend, the Uchiha heiress felt a tinge of regret; looking back at him, she could fully see that his eyes portrayed his cold heart and as Katara tried putting her thoughts aside, she turned her attention back to her sensei as she waited for his instructions.

"Now, watch carefully; take notice of her fluid movements and remember that each one of you should development your own form of taijutsu." Explained the chuunin teacher.

As Katara faced the Uchiha, she took a defensive stance and signaled that she was ready. Watching Sasuke quickly charge at her with a fist held forward, the heiress got ready for the impact. Just as the punch was about to land, she quickly blocked it with her own hand; as Katara saw Sasuke quickly turn his body around and try to land a kick onto her side, the Uchiha heiress quickly used her speed to avoid the attack.

Looking at Sasuke's shocked gaze, Katara was quick to charge at him and managed to land a punch onto his gut. As Sasuke quickly recovered from the hit, he tried landing another kick; ducking to avoid the attack once again, Katara managed to grab onto his foot, and quickly throw him onto the ground.

As Katara saw Sasuke on the ground, she turned toward the group of students and saw a look of shock on everyone's faces.

"There's no way she was able to do that! Not to Sasuke-kun!" a female said as she gasped at the scene before her.

Turning her gaze away from the class, the Uchiha heiress quickly turned around to see the Uchiha male slowly get up onto his feet. As she met up with his obsidian eyes, Katara saw his harsh glare; stopping her advances, she put her hands by her sides, and waited for Iruka to talk to his class.

"Now as you could see there, Katara managed to use her speed to her advantage. While she was in the defensive mode, she quickly counterattacked and managed to find an opening in Sasuke's attack." Explained their sensei as all the students had just looked at the scene that just had unfolded before them.

As Katara's attention was still turned towards the whole class, the heiress quickly felt the other Uchiha quickly approaching her.

"First rule, Katara, don't ever turn your back on the enemy." Stated Sasuke as he came closer and closer with a fist ready.

Not even turning her head to meet his gaze, she quickly grabbed his arm, flipped him over her, and managed to pin him to the ground with his back face up. As she held him there, Iruka was quick to approach the two Uchihas, and quickly broke up the fight.

"Katara, that was a nice demonstration. I think we're done for the day." Stated Iruka as he looked at the heiress.

"All right, Iruka-sensei." Katara said as she released her grip and allowed the other Uchiha to stand back up on his feet.

Watching Sasuke carefully, Katara saw that he was limping a bit as he was walking back towards the group of students. Realizing that her punch may have been too strong, the heiress quickly rushed to his side and abruptly stopped him.

As Katara looked at Sasuke's obsidian orbs with determination, she quickly lifted up his shirt and saw a large bruise forming on his side. Turning her gaze back to the Uchiha's, Katara was willing to put all thoughts aside as her medic instincts kicked in.

"What are you doing, Katara?" questioned Sasuke as he glared at her.

Looking back at him, Katara was quick to return her own glare as she said, "I'm healing you."

"Why?" the Uchiha questioned as he watched the healing chakra slowly heal the bruise.

As Katara finished healing his wound, she responded with, "Despite our differences, I'm a medic nin and I'm supposed to help those in need. You're done, so you can head back to your group of friends. I'm sure that Iruka just said it's your break time."

"Hn…" replied the Uchiha male. As Sasuke was about to take one more step forward he quickly said, "Thanks, Katara."

* * *

Walking out from the training grounds, Katara made her way throughout the halls of the academy and once again made her way outside towards another part of the school. Looking around, she remembered that she used to play with her friends around here and as she saw several other kids her age play several games, she quickly turned her gaze towards the corner and saw a blonde boy sitting by himself.

Looking at him closer, Katara quickly realized that Naruto was sitting on the swing on his own. Seeing that everyone else was ignoring him, the Uchiha heiress was quick to approach him and greet him.

"Hey, Naruto!" greeted the Uchiha as she gave him a heart-felt smile. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

Lifting his head to meet up with her navy orbs, the blonde replied with, "It's like this everyday. But I'm used to it."

"Well, let me join you!" exclaimed Katara as she quickly sat on the swing beside him. As she slowly began to slowly swing back and forth, she decided to start a conversation. "So how did you enjoy today?"

Giving her a huge grin, the blonde's attitude quickly changed as he replied with, "That was awesome; the way that you beat Sasuke that is! He deserved it!"

Giggling at his statement, Katara replied back with, "I'm glad you liked my demonstration. If you'd like, I can show you some moves sometime." The Uchiha said as she gave him another smile.

As she saw his blue eyes widen in shock, Naruto answered back with, "Really? That would be great! Then I could beat Sasuke!"

Smiling at him again, Katara replied with, "Well, you're going to have a good chance at improving. If you want to take up my offer, I'll happily teach you after school."

"Alright!" the blonde said as he pumped his fist in the air and jumped out from his seat. Gaining the attention of everyone in the area, Naruto slowly sat down on his swing and as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, Katara couldn't help but laugh at his childish antics.

* * *

After their break, Katara quickly said good-bye to Naruto and left the academy grounds. Making her way throughout the academy, the Uchiha soon arrived before a large white building. Looking up at all the floors of the building, Katara quickly entered through the sliding doors of the Konoha Hospital.

Once inside, the Uchiha heiress was quick to approach the secretary at the front desk and as she quickly greeted the person at the desk, she quickly grabbed her clipboard and looked at the jobs that were assigned to her.

Turning her gaze towards the clock, she realized that it was mid-afternoon; knowing that both her teammates would come to visit her and spend time with her later on, Katara quickly returned her gaze back to the board. Scanning over the list of things she had to do, the Uchiha heiress quickly moved towards the stairs and made her way to her destination.

* * *

A few hours later:

Quickly wiping some sweat that was about to fall from her forehead, Katara quickly closed the door to a patient's room just after finishing her last task. As she made her way down towards the entrance of the hospital, the Uchiha heiress saw that both her teammates were patiently waiting for her.

Once her gaze met with their's, both the Hyuuga and Takahashi got up from their seats and approached her.

"Took you long enough, Katara." Keiko jokingly said as she gave her friend a smile.

"Hey…working here is a tough job. I had to make sure my patient was comfortable." Stated the Uchiha as she too gave both of them a smile.

"Well then, we should go get something to eat before it gets too dark." Said Koji as he guided both his female teammates towards the sliding doors.

* * *

Once Team 7 arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, all three shinobi quickly took a seat and began to order. As they all patiently waited for their sensei to come, the Hyuuga was a bit flustered as she soon became bored.

"You would think after all these years, Kakashi-sensei would be on time for once in his life." Stated Keiko as she turned to her teammates.

"I suppose; but what can you do? Some things never change." Replied Koji as he gave her a smirk as he calmly put his elbows on the table, and rested his chin on his hands.

"Well, that's the way I like it." Answered Katara as she gave them a smile.

Sensing a familiar presence behind her, Katara quickly turned around and came face to face with her sensei. As all three members of Team 7 watched their sensei take a seat, the Hyuuga was quick to say, "It's about time you showed up, Kakashi-sensei. Where have you been?"

"I was helping an old lady cross the street." Replied the Jounin as he ordered his ramen.

Looking at their sensei, they could see through his lie; and as Koji broke the silence he responded back with, "What kind of old lady is out this late?"

As both Keiko and Katara smirked at Koji's response, they looked at their sensei, waiting for his response.

"That's none of your concern…now, if you guys don't mind, let's eat." Replied the copy-cat nin as all four bowls of ramen were placed before each shinobi.

As all three Anbu sweat dropped at their sensei's response, they all decided to drop the subject and turned their attention to their dinner.

The Uchiha heiress quickly dug into her ramen, and a huge smile appeared on her face; although she basically stopped by the ramen stand at least once a day, Katara never became tired of the taste of ramen. Looking at her teammates and sensei, she could see that they were both happy with each other's company and as she was about to take another bite from her noodles, the Uchiha felt the same chilling sensation she had felt this morning.

As she suddenly stopped eating, Katara quickly turned around and tried to scope out the whole area as she sat on her seat.

Seeing that the Uchiha had something bothering her, Keiko quickly asked aloud, "Katara, are you okay?"

Turning her attention back to her teammates, Katara responded with, "Huh? Yeah, Keiko; I just, it's just that my instinct is telling me something's going to happen."

"Any idea what it is?" questioned Koji as he too stopped eating.

"No idea actually. It's all right though; I'm sure it's nothing." Stated the Uchiha as she tried to avoid the subject and went back to eating her meal.

"I don't think it's just nothing, Katara; it's got to be something." Stated Kakashi.

* * *

After their dinner together, Team 7 along with their sensei started to head off home; the first home they stopped at was Katara's apartment, which was the closest home near the ramen stand. When they arrived at her door, they said their good-byes and let her enter into her home.

It seemed that she hadn't been home in awhile; after a long day, she was glad to come home. Everything was tightly organized and clean and after such a long day, she quickly changed into her pajamas and headed to bed after putting away her weapons. Her apartment contained a kitchen, a bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom; her bedroom was painted sky blue, with the Uchiha fan on one side of her bedroom's walls. A queen sized bed was centered in the middle of the room, followed with deep navy curtains and a nice organized wooden desk on the far right of the room. As she headed off to her bedroom, she turned off all the lights and went straight to bed; once her bed hit the pillow, she quickly fell asleep, dreaming about happy thoughts.

She thought she heard a noise that was occurring outside her dream so she opened her eyes to see two pairs of eyes, one of them being crimson with a kunai in front of her throat. She looked at those eyes in surprise and shock, as the voice was also familiar. "You're coming with us." 'Poof,' **'Hn….a shadow clone.' **

As the crimson-eyed man was searching for the heiress, his other partner, a seemingly blue shark, caught her near the windowsill, with her Sharingan on, ready to escape. With a giant sword in his hand, this shark-like man slashed at her, but with her speed, she managed to escape through the window. Leaping down to the ground, Katara jumped into a full sprint as she was running for her life towards the Hokage tower.

"Kisame, stay behind and pack her things. I'm going ahead." The Uchiha said as he jumped through the window after their target.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Tell me what you thought of it! Just click that green button right there and review! **

**-Katara**


	29. Chapter 26: A Vision of Uncertainty pt 2

**Sorry that I haven't been updating lately; I've been busy with projects for school, but I can't wait to get out soon. Only about two weeks left. :) **

**I hope you guys enjoy this and let me know by reviewing! Thanks! **

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* * *

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Chapter 26: A Vision of Uncertainty (part 2)

With a kunai in hand, pony-tail held high while wearing a red tank top and black ninja capris, she pushed more chakra into her feet to make her run faster. She was close to her destination, but she felt a familiar chakra presence behind her. Turning around, she saw Itachi's shadow come down on her. In order to get out of the way, she rolled her body to the right and continued running, finally making it to the tower where Team 7, including their sensei, were waiting for her. Uchiha Katara stood proudly next to them as Uchiha Itachi saw that they had planned this for awhile.

"It must've taken a lot of guts to show your face around here after what you've done." Said the silver-haired Jounin.

"Hn…..We're not here for a fight; we're just here for her." The Uchiha said calmly glaring daggers at the heiress.

"What do you mean by 'we'?" questioned Koji.

All of a sudden, the Uchiha's partner, Hoshigaki Kisame came out from nowhere with a few bags with him, containing Katara's things. "Wait, wh-what are you doing with my stuff?"

"As Itachi explained before, we're taking you with us, princess." Replied the shark-like being.

"You're Hoshigaki Kisame, a missing nin from the Hidden Village of the Mist." Said Kakashi.

"Well I'm honored for a renowned ninja like you to know of my existence." The missing nin replied with a grin showing his razor-sharp teeth. "But I'm more interested in knowing how you knew we were coming."

"That's none of your concern, now what are you two doing here? There has to be something more than just wanting to take the only heiress of the Uchiha clan." Said the copy-ninja taking out a kunai knife, showing them that he was ready to fight them both.

"As we've said before, we're only here for the girl." Uchiha Itachi said as he closed his eyes as he was losing his patience.

"What if we don't hand her over?" asked the Hyuuga as she walked forward.

"Then, the village suffers." Kisame answered back. At that moment, Katara's Sharingan eyes widened in worry. "No way, there are only two of you; you're bluffing." Said Koji.

Koji's statement was interrupted by his female teammate, Katara: "No, he's not; I can feel the intensity of other chakra signatures surrounding the village. They're not bluffing; they're dead serious." The Uchiha heiress replied back as she closed her orbs, returning them back to their navy blue color.

"Heh, well, then, are you going to hand yourself over, or are we going to have to fight." Stated Kisame.

"Hmph, we'd rather fight than hand over our friend." Exclaimed Keiko as she turned on her Byakugan.

"Well then, let's get started." The shark said as he quickly grabbed his Samehada from his back and began to unwrap it. Katara's eyes soon widened in shock as a strange vision came to her full of bloodshed and fear. But her vision was quickly interrupted as her sensei exclaimed, "Katara! Get out of here!"

Without a second thought, the Uchiha heiress quickly flickered her body away from the area; the only thing that had shown that she had just stood there was her own two footprints.

"Kisame, you stay here; I'll go after her." Stated Itachi as he too quickly disappeared from the area.

"I guess I get to have all this fun on my own." Said the shark as he smirked at them.

* * *

Heaving several breaths out as she continued to run throughout the village, Katara took a quick turn around a corner as she continued with her sprint. Not even trying to look back, the Uchiha only focused on getting farther and farther away from the two rogue shinobi.

Seeing that she had run into a dead end, Katara quickly turned around to make her way towards the other side of the corner. As she was about to take another step, her body was roughly slammed onto the wooden fence, as she came face to face with Itachi.

Crimson clashed with crimson and as both Uchihas glared at each other, Katara felt his grip tighten around her throat as he pushed her harder into the fence. Leaning closely, Itachi whispered, "You will go willingly with us or face the consequences."

Still glaring at him, the heiress was trying to pry his hands off her throat as she responded with, "No, I won't go."

Quickly letting her go, Katara dropped to the ground, gasping for air as she looked up to see the Uchiha tower over her with his crimson eyes. As she looked at him, visions of that night kept running through her mind, and as Katara shook those thoughts away from her head, she came face to face with the Uchiha.

Seeing his Sharingan eyes still staring down at her, Katara was quick to get back on her feet as she too stared at him with her blood crimson orbs. Noticing that he had taken out a kunai knife already, Katara was quick to take out a kunai knife as well; stepping forward, the heiress was quick to get into a defensive position as she waited for the other Uchiha to make the first advance.

Quickly disappearing from her sight, Katara felt Itachi's presence behind her as she tried to avoid a kick by protecting her body with her hands. As she felt her body slightly move backwards from the force of his kick, the heiress blocked a punch with her own arm and was ready to make a counterattack.

Seeing a quick opening, Katara took that as her cue as she moved on in with her own attack; leading with a own chakra-filled fist forward, she came close to hitting the other Uchiha. Nearly missing his body by a few centimeters, Katara quickly disappeared from the area and came from behind.

His own crimson orbs widened in shock and as he felt her presence behind him, she managed to land an axe kick onto his own gut, causing him to slightly move back as he was unable to hold his own ground from the force of the kick.

Slightly hunched back, Itachi straightened himself out and looked back at his opponent. As Katara observed him as well, both Uchihas seemed to be at a standstill. As crimson clashed with crimson, they both knew that there would be a long fight ahead of them.

* * *

"Let's have some fun now, shall we." Stated the missing Mist nin as he held his Samehada forward.

"Keiko, Koji, you two be my back up; Kisame's not someone to take on too lightly." Warned Kakashi as he took out a kunai knife.

"Hai!" agreed both leaf nin as they too took out kunai knives of their own.

As all three leaf nin stood before the large blue shark, they all decided to attack him from three different directions. With Kakashi taking the lead, he was quick to give the first strike; with a kunai in his hand, he was quick to slash at the Mist nin as he came closer and closer.

Kisame, seeing the leaf Jounin come at him with a fast pace, he was quick to defend himself with his Samehada. Meeting each kunai slash with his sword, clash between metal and metal could be heard.

Sensing two more presences behind him, the blue shark was quick to turn around and see the two other leaf nin advancing towards him with their own tactics. As the Hyuuga was ready to strike the rogue nin with her jyuuken, the Takahashi had his own kunai knife in his hand; both shinobi were ready to strike from behind.

Just as both attacks were about to hit their target, the blue shark quickly disappeared from their sight. Both Koji and Keiko had their bloodlines on and as they scanned the entire area, they failed to realize that the rogue Mist nin was behind them. Just as both anbu turned around to try to block an attack, their sensei was quick to cover them.

The copy cat nin came at a fast rate as he saw his old students in trouble; as he finally complete his renown chidori, he was quick to make his way from behind Kisame and thrust the attack through the shark's chest.

* * *

"KEIKO MOVE!" exclaimed Koji as he pushed Keiko out of the way and moved his body to cover hers.

As both the Takahashi and the Hyuuga moved out of the way, they both laid face down on the ground. Keiko was quick to turn around face to face with her teammate and as both sat up on the ground, they both turned around just in time to see their sensei give the final attack.

Widening their eyes in shock as they watched the attack go through the shark's chest, they quickly saw his body disappear into droplets of water.

"Keiko, can you try to spot him with your Byakugan?" asked Kakashi as he turned and looked at his student with his Sharingan eye.

"Yeah…I'll try." The Hyuuga said as she activated her bloodline.

Looking around the area, Keiko tried her best to spot their enemy. Not sensing any chakra signatures around them, the Hyuuga was about to tell them her results until she was interrupted by her male teammate.

"Kakashi-sensei! Keiko! Watch out!" exclaimed Koji as he and the other two leaf shinobi jumped in the air to avoid a attack from underground.

As Kisame came up from the earth below them, he was quick to make a swipe at the Takahashi. Koji narrowly avoided the attack, but as he landed on the ground, he was quick to clutch onto his arm as he saw that the sword had hit its target.

The blood from his wound was quickly pouring out and as Keiko rushed to Koji's side, she was quick to rip the bottom of her shirt to wrap it around his wound.

"Here, Koji." Keiko said as she offered the fabric to his hands.

Nodding his head as a reply, Koji quickly lifted his arm and allowed the Hyuuga to bandage the wound.

"How does that feel?" asked the Hyuuga as she stepped away from him to check her hand-work.

"It's fine, Keiko. Arigatou." Koji replied as he slowly got back onto his feet.

Both shinobi focused on the fight between their sensei and the shark; as both shinobi were a match for each other, the Hyuuga and Takahashi were mesmerized by their fast movements.

"KOJI! KEIKO! Watch out!" the Copy cat nin exclaimed.

Just as both Anbu were broken from their daze, both managed to jump out of the way as a long metal-like tail came out of nowhere.

Widening her white eyes in shock, Keiko was surprise to see another man in the same cloak as the shark. Turning her gaze to her teammate, Keiko saw the small hint of shock in Koji's eyes as well. But unlike her, he was able to hide it better. And as both leaf shinobi stood on the sidelines, behind the copy cat nin, their sensei was now facing two opponents.

* * *

"Kisame…what's taking so long?" asked the puppeteer as his own tone showed his anger.

"We're having a little bit of trouble getting the Uchiha." Answered the shark as he gave the sand nin a smirk.

Looking lazily at the Mist nin, the red head was quick to reply with, "You know I don't like to wait, Kisame. Let's finish this already." The rogue Sand nin said as he looked at the three leaf shinobi.

"Kisame, you couldn't handle these three.." stated Sasori as he looked at the shark again.

"They're tougher than they look, Sasori." Replied the Mist nin as he prepared for another battle.

"Hn." Responded Sasori.

* * *

"Koji, Keiko, watch out for this one. He's a puppeteer and by the looks of it, it seems as though that tail of his is full of a deadly poison." Stated Kakashi as he gave a glance to his old students.

"Hai." Both shinobi replied.

Both Koji and Keiko took out kunai knives faster than the eye could see and as they stood alongside their sensei, facing their two opponents, their bodies remained relax. Not letting fear overtake them, both the Hyuuga and the Takahashi followed their sensei's lead as they saw him jump into action. Without any hesitation, they jumped in beside him as well.

* * *

After several minutes of fighting, all five shinobi were heaving out deep breaths of air. Feeling her heartbeat rapidly in her chest, Keiko knew that she was nearing her limit.

Turning his gaze back to his teammate, Koji quickly looked her over and saw that she was tiring down; slowly approaching her form, the Takahashi was quick to spin her around to face him. Looking directly at her tired, white orbs, Koji's own gaze showed his concern.

"You all right, Keiko?" asked the Takahashi, despite already knowing the answer.

"I'm fine, Koji. Don't worry about me. Let's just finish this already." Answered Keiko. Despite knowing that she was exhausted, Keiko was trying to keep up with Koji's amazing stamina. And just as the Hyuuga was looking at Koji as he looked ahead, determination began to move throughout her system. Seeing her own teammate still ready to fight on, Keiko put her own body's limit aside and as she straightened herself out, she managed to hide her own exhaustion.

Still continuing to look at his female teammate with some concern as she stood up straight, Koji slowly tried to ignore it and was ready to fight again.

Their sensei was still fighting and as both leaf nin jumped in to help him again, Koji couldn't help but feel hesitant as he watched his female comrade continue to fight.

Seeing her narrowly avoiding several poisonous senbon headed her way, the Takahashi realized that her movements were slowing down. **'She can't keep up with his pace forever.' Thought Koji **as he avoided more senbon.

Turning his gaze back to the Hyuuga, Koji's own orbs widened in terror as he saw Sasori's tail that was about to hit his friend from behind. Quickly avoiding another round of senbon headed his way, the Takahashi was quick to warn his teammate as he headed towards her way. "Keiko! Watch out behind you!" **'She's not going to make it in time.'** Koji thought as he quickly formed hand signs as he headed his way towards her.

As the Hyuuga heard Koji's voice loudly yell at her, her own orbs also showed the same terror that was evident in his eyes. Getting ready for the impact that would surely severely injure her, the Hyuuga was ready to face the attack.

* * *

A scream was heard as it broke through the night sky; it echoed through the silent streets of Konoha and as Kakashi and Kisame were both still fighting on as strong as ever, both shinobi stopped once they heard that horrible sound.

Smirking at his opponent, the shark was quick to say, "Doesn't look like your students are faring well against Sasori, Kakashi."

"Hn." Replied the silver-haired Jounin as he disappeared from the area, heading towards the sound.

* * *

Watching the scene in between her hands, Hyuuga Keiko couldn't help but let out a shriek as she watched the enemy's metal tail slash through her teammate's stomach.

"KOJI!" the Hyuuga yelled again as she move quickly to catch his body before he hit the ground.

Looking at the wound with her own bloodline, Keiko was quick to assess that the poison was quickly spreading. Trying to stop the blood that was quickly rushing out from his body, the Hyuuga scanned the area for any type of cloth to soak up the blood.

Sasori was watching from the sidelines as he watched the Hyuuga try to help her teammate; looking boredly at her, he just stood before her as she ripped a large part of the bottom of her shirt to help clean up the mess.

"There's no point in helping him. He's going to die anyway." Stated the puppeteer.

Not daring to look up at her opponent, Keiko continued to focus on her teammate as she tried to stop the bleeding. "That doesn't mean I shouldn't try." Stated the Hyuuga.

Keiko knew that things were becoming more drastic and as she was still failing to stop the blood from coming out, she was afraid that her teammate would bleed to death. As the fear finally hit her, the Hyuuga was unwilling to allow the tears to fall from her eyes. Quickly wiping them away before Koji could see, Keiko quickly turned her gaze back to the Takahashi and saw that he was barely awake.

"Koji…how are you feeling?" asked the Hyuuga as she sat beside him, rubbed, and held onto his hand to take his mind off the pain.

Coughing up some blood before responding, the Hyuuga shushed him as she quickly cleaned up the blood and then allowed him to continue. "It hurts…Keiko. But I'll pull through, don't worry about me."

As the Hyuuga looked back at Koji's face, she couldn't help but feel responsible for his current state; she saw that he was still smiling and as she brushed a strand of his hair away from his face Keiko couldn't help but return the smile back. As she continued to stay by his side and hope for the best, she was thankful as she saw that her sensei had appeared right beside her.

Looking up from where she sat, Keiko saw that her sensei knelt down beside her to check Koji's condition.

"This doesn't look good; he needs to go to the hospital." Stated Kakashi as he examined the damage.

"B-but what about Katara? She still needs our help." Responded Keiko as she looked at her teammate in concern.

"She can handle herself. But right now, Koji's condition will get worse. If we don't take him to the hospital soon, it will be all over." Explained the silver-haired Jounin as he turned towards the Hyuuga.

"But Kakashi-sensei…" began Keiko as she was interrupted by the Jounin, "But what, Keiko?"

"We still have Kisame and Sasori to deal with." Stated the kunoichi as she looked ahead.

Following her gaze, Kakashi also saw that now they were both faced with the two missing nin and as all four shinobi stood in their place, Kisame was the first one to speak out. "Looks like you did a good job here, Sasori; well then, we can strike a trade with you, that is if you want to save your teamamte's life." The blue shark said as he saw the Hyuuga continue to keep her teammate's mind off the pain by still holding onto his hand.

"What do you mean?" asked Kakashi.

* * *

After several minutes of fighting, both Uchihas were still going strong at it. Just standing a few feet apart from her opponent, Katara saw that both she and Itachi were breathing heavily.

Both Uchihas only retained some scratches on their bodies, but other than that, it seemed as though it was only merely a warm-up for the both of them.

As both were getting at it again, Katara was ready to end this battle quickly; aiming for his head, her kick nearly made its target until the other Uchiha ducked just in time. Squatting down and dodging her attack, Itachi was quick to attack her while she was vulnerable. With a kick of his own, he managed to hit her in her gut and as Katara felt the force of his kick, it caused her to hit the opposing fence.

While still on the ground, Katara watched the other Uchiha carefully to see if he was planning to advance anytime soon. Seeing that he graciously was waiting for her to get back up on her two feet, the Uchiha heiress quickly propped herself up with her elbows and just as she was about to get up, she gave him a small smirk; quickly disappearing from the area by using her body flicker jutsu, Katara saw Itachi's eyes widen in shock again.

As quickly as she had disappeared, Katara than reappeared beside him and managed to elbow him in the chest; as he swiftly moved back to avoid another blow, he was quick to absorb the next kick by using his arms to block it.

Deciding to take the battle into his own hands, Itachi was quick to come forward with a kick; as he stretched is leg forward, ready to strike, the Uchiha heiress concentrated enough chakra in her feet, allowing her to dodge his attack as she jumped up into the air.

As she carefully watched her opponent down below her, Katara was quickly to form some hand signs; once performing the correct seals for the body flicker jutu, the heiress quickly reappeared behind Itachi and swiftly created the hand signs for a fireball jutsu. As male Uchiha widened his crimson orbs, he turned around just as Katara had unleashed the ember from her mouth.

Looking at the fast speeding fire headed his way, Itachi was ready to take the hit full on seeing that his reaction was a bit too slow; just as the flame was about to make contact with his skin, a foreign water jutsu quickly distinguished the flames.

As fire met water, both clashed and caused hot steam to disperse throughout the air; both Uchihas had to shield their eyes as they felt the intensity of both elements. As the gaseous vapor slowly disappeared, Katara was quick to turn towards her opponent and notice an additional shinobi in the area.

Looking at the blue shark with a harsh, crimson glare, the Uchiha heiress once again got into a battle stance as she switched her gaze from one opponent to another.

Smirking at his partner, the Mist nin was quick to say, "Don't worry, I got your back Itachi."

As Itachi carefully watched Kisame from the corner of his eye, he responded back with, "Hn…Kisame, we have to hurry; we don't want to draw anymore attention."

"Like I said before, Itachi, don't worry about it. I'm sure both of us will be able to take her down." Kisame said as he gave the Uchiha another smirk.

"Do not underestimate her, Kisame." Warned Itachi as he turned his attention back to Katara.

Just as both Uchihas were about to go at it again, Katara's movements were stopped as she heard a voice calling for her. Turning her attention back to the familiar voice, she was surprised to see the Hyuuga rushing towards her.

As Keiko stopped before Katara, the Uchiha could already sense that something was wrong; she saw that the Hyuuga was worn out and as she saw the look of fear and concern in the kunoichi's eyes, the Uchiha heiress was quick to stop her fight and face her teammate.

"Keiko, what's wrong?" Katara asked as she steadied the Hyuuga by grabbing her by her shoulders.

Seeing the tears slowly fall down from the Hyuuga's eyes, the Uchiha heiress waited patiently for her response.

"I-it's Koji; he's been badly poisoned. He's already been taken to the hospital, but they can't find any cure…"began Keiko as she tried to stop herself from shaking. "H-he's going to die, Katara. There's nothing they can do; his condition's getting worse."

Trying to hide her own shock and fear for the sake of her teammate, Katara was just about to reply back, until a voice interrupted her.

"There's way to save him." Stated the male Uchiha.

Turning her attention to both males standing before her, Katara was quick to say, "What are you talking about?"

"What he's talking about is that we have the antidote; all you have to do little Uchiha is come with us and we'll give you it." Explained the Mist nin as he gave her a toothy grin.

Looking back at the Hyuuga, Katara could see how all this was affecting her and as the Uchiha was going to reply back, Keiko interrupted her with, "Katara, don't do it; you can't trust them and I know that you could probably find the cure. Just go to the hospital and help him; I can't stand losing two important people at one time. Just go." The Hyuuga pleaded.

Not able to get the Hyuuga's sad expression out of her mind, the Uchiha heiress didn't even reply back as she and Keiko quickly flickered away from the area.

"What now, Itachi?" asked Kisame as he turned towards his partner.

"She'll come to us, Kisame; just wait." Stated the Uchiha as he picked up some kunai and quickly walked away from the area.

Looking at his partner's retreating form, Kisame also retreated as well.

* * *

"Can anyone tell me what his condition is?" the Uchiha calmly asked as she entered the emergency room.

As a medic stepped forward, he handed her a clipboard, and was quick to say "Takahashi Koji is in a life-threatening situation. He's slipped out of consciousness several times, his fever has continued to rise, and his body is in pain everywhere. We weren't able to find any poison that causes these types of symptoms, so we couldn't find a cure."

"So what have you done so far?" asked Katara as she looked over the information on the clipboard.

"We can't do any more for him. I'm sorry." Replied the medic as he took the clipboard back.

"Let me try to do something for him." Replied the Uchiha heiress as she approached her teamamte's bedside.

**'Don't worry Koji, I'll do whatever it takes to save you.' Thought Katara **as she began to think of a plan.

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**You'll have to stay tuned to find out what happens to Koji! I don't want to give anything away, so just stay tuned and I hope i can update soon! **

**Ja Ne!**

**-katara**


	30. Chapter 27: A Vision of Uncertainty pt 3

**Sorry for the late update, but now that summer's here, I'm excited to update more often. So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I hope to hear about your opinion on the story so far or ton he chapter in a review. **

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Chapter 27: A Vision of Uncertainty (part 3)

"I'm going to need another one of these." The Uchiha heiress said aloud as she took another blood sample and put it into a clear test tube.

Putting some of Koji's blood on a slide, Katara quickly put the sample under a microscope and looked carefully at the poison. Inside, the kunoichi saw the poison attacking several of the white blood cells; quickly scribbling down what she saw on a notepad, Katara was quick to compare her notes with a regular blood sample she had seen earlier.

'**This is no ordinary poison; it attaches itself on the blood cells and moves throughout the body. Along with that, its effects are nothing like I've seen or read about before.' Thought Katara **as she slowly closed her notebook. Getting up from her seat just as another medic was entering the room with another test tube, the Uchiha heiress was leaving.

"Where are you going?" questioned the medic as he placed the clear test tube on a rack.

Looking back at the medic with her navy orbs, the Uchiha quickly replied with, "I need to go to the medical library. I'll be back soon." And with that, Katara slowly left through the entrance.

Making her way into the hallway, Katara saw that her other teammate was sitting in the hallway alone. Coming up beside her, the Uchiha heiress quickly signaled with her hand to get up. As the Hyuuga looked at her with a bit of hesitation, the kunoichi quickly got onto her feet and followed closely behind her friend.

"Aren't you tired, Katara?" questioned Keiko as she sped up enough to walk beside the Uchiha. Looking at Katara's eyes, the Hyuuga could clearly see how the lack of sleep was affecting the heiress; few bags were starting to form and although Katara wouldn't show it, Keiko knew that she was trying to fight off sleep.

"I'm fine, Keiko. Plus, I can't sleep knowing that Koji needs us. Now come on, I'm going to need your help in the library if we're going to find a cure for him." Katara answered as they both made a quick turn at the end of the hallway and entered into the medical library.

The library was full of several shelves of books that littered every corner; taking a look around, both kunoichis realized how dusty the place was and how old some of the books looked.

"I guess we'll start here." The Uchiha heiress said as she pointed straight ahead at a section of books.

* * *

After a few hours of researching and trying to find a cure, the Uchiha heiress was slowly reaching her breaking point; her mind was already in a panic mode and as she desperately looked at every medical book, she had found nothing. No poison recorded had the symptoms that her teammate was going through and as Katara abruptly slammed her current textbook closed, the Uchiha needed some fresh air. Keiko lifted her gaze from her book and as she carefully watched the Uchiha heiress get up onto her own feet, the Hyuuga's gaze was a bit hesitant.

Not wanting to show any worry in her navy orbs, Katara's gaze softened as she said aloud, "Keiko, just continue looking for anything you can; I need to go get some fresh air." She had said as she saw the Hyuuga nod at her statement. Katara quickly then left the room and made her way out of the hospital.

Once outside, the Uchiha stood in the middle of the road and while looking back at the huge white building, she took out a small note. Deciding whether to look at the letter, the heiress let out a sigh of frustration as she looked at the note for the hundredth time.

_Katara, _

_By this time you discovered that there is no cure for that poison; if you want to save your teammate's life, you have until midnight to decide. In return, we expect you to willingly go with us._

_-Itachi_

Scanning over the note once again, Katara angrily crumpled the note and threw it to the ground. Despite how she tried everything in her power to save him, nothing worked; at this moment, the Uchiha felt just as helpless as she was the day everything was taken away from her. Falling down onto her knees and trying to catch her own breath, Katara wiped the upcoming tears from her eyes, and as she shakingly stood up again, she screamed into the night. "ALL RIGHT! YOU GUYS WIN! Just give me the antidote and I'll go with you!" The Uchiha heiress exclaimed as she tightened her fists.

Looking around for anyone that could've heard her, Katara was just about to walk back inside the hospital, until a shadow with crimson orbs appeared before her. Cautiously observing the male Uchiha before her, she saw that he held out a small bottle full of a strange, green liquid.

"Make sure to meet us at the gate within an hour and come alone. Be on time, if not, I will come after you myself." Warned Itachi as he glared at her.

Once enclosing her hand around the small bottle, the Uchiha heiress nodded and quickly disappeared back into the building.

* * *

As the Uchiha quickly entered into Koji's room, she saw that his condition had severely worsened. Seeing that the Hyuuga was still sitting beside his bedside, Katara was quick to ignore how much he had paled, and quickly ordered a medic to put the antidote in a casing.

Once receiving the antidote, the Uchiha was quick to inject it into his system. Hoping for the best, both Katara and Keiko saw that it was working; the male's fever was slowly dropping back to his normal body temperature and as his face softened, Katara was quick to check his vital signs.

Checking over everything, the Uchiha concluded that the antidote was successful. Still in full shock, Katara failed to notice that the Hyuuga was hugging her.

As they both continued to jump up and down, the Hyuuga couldn't contain her happiness as her tears slowly fell from her eyes. "Katara, you did it! I knew you could do it! Who needs those rogue nin anyways!" Keiko had exclaimed as she looked at the Uchiha to see her happy expression. But instead of seeing a smile on her face, the kunoichi noticed that her teammate remained indifferent.

"Wh-what's wrong, Katara? You're antidote worked didn't it?" asked Keiko as she looked at the kunoichi with concern.

Turning her navy gaze towards her teammate, Katara replied back with, "Hm? Oh yeah! It did!" the Uchiha said as she put on a fake smile.

"This is great! I knew you could do it!" the Hyuuga said as she hugged her teammate.

"Yeah, thanks Keiko. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need some sleep." The Uchiha said as she stifled a yawn and slowly made her way to leave the room. "If anything happens to him, don't hesitate to call me." Stated Katara before she fully left Koji's room and made her way home.

It was quiet as Katara walked home and as she looked up at the dark sky, she saw that the stars still brightly shone through. Not being able to smile, the Uchiha heiress made her way back to her apartment; it felt like the longest walk she had ever taken and as she slid her key into the lock, she entered into her empty home for the last time.

Taking a look around the place, the Uchiha saw that most of her stuff was already taken by the others. Quickly grabbing her own backpack out, Katara packed the rest of her kunai and shuriken, along with some food for the trip. Looking back at her bedside table, the heiress noticed a picture of her team and sensei from a few years back. Smiling back at the photo, Katara saw how happy all four of them were and as the Uchiha shook her own tears away, she was quick to pack the photo as well.

Taking one last look at her room, Katara quickly turned off the light. Looking at the clock, the heiress realized that she had thirty more minutes before she would depart and as she quickly made her way out of her home, Katara wanted to make one more stop before making her way to the gates.

* * *

"I guess this is good-bye, Haku." Katara said as she carefully placed some calla lilies on her brother's tombstone. Looking at his engraved name, the Uchiha stood before his grave in silence.

"But don't worry, I'll be back one day and I'll come to visit when I can. And I'll bring you ramen like I always do." Said the Uchiha heiress as she lit some incense before her brother's grave and quickly left the area as she let some tears spill from her eyes.

* * *

"K-k-Keiko." A soft voice barely audible to the human ear whispered.

Looking up from where she sat, the Hyuuga quickly got up as she saw that their male teammate was awake.

"Koji!" exclaimed Keiko as she approached his bedside and embraced him in a tight hug. "You cannot believe how worried Katara and I were about you! I'm glad you're back!"

Patting her softly on her back, the Takahashi was quick to let out a chuckle as he returned the hug back. "Arigatou, Keiko-chan. Where's Katara?" He asked as their embrace ended.

The Hyuuga looked back at him with her white orbs and as she locked into his blue-eyed gaze, her eyes reflected worry as she sat beside him. "She told me she was going to get some sleep, but I think there's something going on here."

Staring at his teammate with surprise, Koji was quick to move his body into a sitting position as he shakingly got up onto his feet.

As the Hyuuga watched him hesitatingly, she was quick to offer her help as he almost slipped. "Koji what are you doing?" asked the kunoichi as she held the Takahashi by leaning all his weight on her.

"You just said that there's something up; we should go find Katara then." He said as he gave her a soft smile.

"Right." The Hyuuga nodded as she returned the smile with her own.

* * *

The Konoha Gates were only a few feet away and as Katara made her way towards the Uchiha, who stood just outside the gates waiting for her, the heiress slowed down her pace as she sensed two familiar chakra signatures coming near.

Turning her head back to see if anyone was following her, Katara was shocked to see both her teammates coming towards her. As she watched them stop before her and take deep breaths, she was just about to jump into a sprint until someone grabbed her shoulder.

Causing her to turn around, Katara had no choice but to stand in her spot and wait for them to say what they needed to say. Looking towards the Hyuuga first, the Uchiha was quiet as she let the kunoichi start.

"Katara, what are you doing?" questioned Keiko as she looked at the Uchiha straight in the eye and held onto her friend's shoulders.

"Keiko…that wasn't my antidote. I-I made a deal with them because I couldn't find a cure. But it's all right now, Koji will be fine." The Uchiha explained as she tried to reassure the Hyuuga.

Keiko, still looking at Katara with a look of shock, turned towards her and said, "You did what? B-but do you know what this means then…"

"Yeah, I know, Keiko. But if it was for Koji, it was worth it." Said the heiress as she smiled at their male teammate. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect you guys, so don't worry about me. I'll come back one day." Katara said as she began to slowly leave.

"B-but what about your life here? You're giving everything up!" exclaimed the frustrated Hyuuga as her white orbs clashed with navy.

"Like I said, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep you guys safe. Just let me do this Keiko, just let me go…I'll come back one day." Katara said as she stood before her two friends with a smile on her face.

"Katara, I'm grateful that you're giving up your life here for me, but you don't deserve this." Koji said as he joined the conversation. "You don't have to go to them."

Turning her navy gaze towards the Takahashi, Katara saw how he was still recovering from his previous encounter with the Akatsuki and as she took a long pause before answering, she replied back with, "Koji…just look at you; you're severely injured because of them. And you think that if I don't' go to them now that they won't go after the village? Then, you're wrong. You've seen what they could do, and imagine all the damage they could cause to the village. That's not a risk I'm willing to take."

"Kay, you do realize that you're being tied down, right? If you go with them, you'll barely have the freedom to make your own choices; is that really what you want?" questioned the Hyuuga as she looked at the Uchiha with concern.

"Keiko, Koji, I know you guys are concerned; I know that you guys are trying to protect me, but there's nothing I can do. I made a promise, and I need to keep it. Of course I know what I'm getting myself into, and I'll deal with the problems that come my way." Replied the Uchiha.

"But Katara.." began the Hyuuga.

"But nothing, you guys!" exclaimed the Uchiha as she looked at both of them. "I need to do this; like I said before, don't worry about me. There will be a day when I come back and I'll come back with my own freedom."

"I guess we can't do anything to stop you." Stated Koji.

"B-but Koji.." began the Hyuuga as she looked at the Takahashi. "How could you say that?"

"Keiko, look at this rationally; a deal is a deal. There's nothing we can do to stop them or her. She's made her choice and I wouldn't say I'm supporting her choice to join them, but what I'm doing is that I'm supporting the fact that she cares about both of us." explained Koji.

"Thanks for understanding; and one day, we'll see each other again. This isn't the end of Team 7. We'll be together again one day; you guys mean the whole world to me, and as long as I know that I'm keeping you two along with the village safe, that's all that matters." Said Katara as she gave them both a sincere smile.

As Team 7 all embraced in a hug, so much emotion was present; after all the years of being together and spending time as more than a team, but somewhat as friends and like a second family, the Uchiha heiress was trying to hold her own tears back. As the embrace ended, Katara still stood before her two teammates and looked back at them. Holding her hand out, she shook their hands one at a time before slowly stepping back.

"I guess this is good-bye." Said Koji.

"Don't ever forget about us, Katara." stated the Hyuuga.

"I won't and it's not a good-bye; we should never say that because it's more like a 'see your later." Replied Katara as she smiled at them again.

"Right, then see you later, Katara." Keiko said as she and Koji both returned the Uchiha's smile with their own.

And with that, the heiress quickly ran towards the gates; still looking back at the Uchiha's retreating form, the Hyuuga was quick to yell out into the night, "Uchiha! You better not get yourself hurt out there because you have to come back eventually! Take good care of yourself!"

Slamming his palm to his forehead, the Takahashi was quick to show his disappraoval at his female teammate's antics; **'She probably just woke up the whole village.' Thought the Takahashi as he shook his head. **

* * *

"I told you to come alone." Stated the emotionless Uchiha just as Katara had approached him.

"Gomen; I didn't realize they were following me." Replied the heiress as she looked back at his crimson eyes.

Choosing to push aside what had just happened, the male Uchiha was quick to start moving away from the village. Realizing that Katara was not following him, he quickly turned around and addressed her with, "Let's go," as he tilted his head towards the direction he was heading.

Nodding at his statement, Katara was quick to catch up to him; knowing that she herself was trying to fight off sleep, Katara was having trouble keeping up with him as he increased his speed.

Within an hour's time, the male Uchiha abruptly stopped in his tracks as he turned around to address Katara once again.

"Your own pace is delaying us. We need to speed it up."

Taking a deep breath, the heiress replied back with a yawn that came out unexpectedly. Trying to push her own exhaustion away, Katara said aloud, "I'm trying my best; with the current condition I'm in right now, I can't fully use all my energy, so please, stop pushing me so hard."

"You're best right now, isn't good enough. And if you don't hurry it up, we'll be late." Itachi said as he quickly approached her and towered over her nine-year old form. "Now come on." The older Uchiha said as he quickly picked her up in his arms and started to carry her through the route.

Trying to get out of his arms, the Uchiha heiress tried to resist, but later found that it took too much of her effort. And as she tried to keep her eyes open, she struggled and within a few more moments, she gave way to sleep. And when Itachi arrived at his destination within record timing, he found Katara asleep in his arms.

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**Hope you liked the chapter! Make sure to click that button there and review please! Reviews help encourage me to update sooner and I love hearing what you guys think about the story! Until next time! Ja Ne!**


	31. Chapter 28: Changes

**Well here's the new chapter! And I hope you enjoy! Please keep on reviewing! **

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Chapter 28: Changes

Slowly opening her navy orbs, Katara first saw the bright lighting of the room; trying to cover up her eyes from the brightness, the heiress moved her arm to cover her face. After a few more minutes, the Uchiha adjusted her sight to the light of the room, and tried to sit up in the unfamiliar bed. Slowly opening her navy orbs again, the Uchiha heiress let out a shriek as she saw a blonde boy hovering over her. As she locked her navy eyes with his blue ones, she accidently hit his forehead as she abruptly got up.

Rubbing his head to try to relieve the pain, the blonde said aloud, "What was that for, un?"

Looking back at him, Katara saw that he was around her age, but maybe older; with a closer inspection, she saw that his headband showed that he used to be a part of Iwa and his blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and that he was wearing the same cloak as the others.

"Gomen. I was just surprised when I woke up." Answered the kunoichi.

Rolling his eyes at her, the young Iwa nin replied back with, "Whatever, un. I'm Deidara." He had said as he put his hand forward.

Looking at his hand with a bit of hesitation, the heiress slowly shook his hand as she replied back with, "I'm Uchiha Katara." As she gave him a sincere smile, Katara was quick to retract her hand as she felt something wet graze her palm. Seeing some saliva on her left palm, the Uchiha quickly rose her own eyebrow as she looked back at the Iwa nin.

"Sorry about that, un." He sheepishly apologized as he scratched the back of his head.

Upon closer inspection, the heiress saw that there was a mouth on the palm of his hand and as she saw it smile at her, Katara was slightly intrigued by his mouths.

"It's okay; I wasn't expecting that." Replied the Uchiha as she wiped the saliva off by wiping it on the side of her shirt.

"Just as I wasn't expecting that bump on the head, un." Said Deidara.

"Sorry again." Responded the Uchiha.

"Don't worry about it, un. We have a meeting to go to anyways, un." Said the Iwa nin as he headed towards the door and stood before the doorway as Katara slowly followed him.

Making their way throughout the hallways, Katara was sure that she was in their base. As they both quickly turned around the corner, the Uchiha could hear small whispers from the door in front of her.

Once entering the room, Katara saw that several other people were there; as Deidara took a quick seat near a red head, Katara quickly followed him and took a seat directly from a man with several piercings.

"Was this the person we were after? She seems nothing but a little child to me." Exclaimed a silver-haired men with a three-bladed scythe.

"He's right; she's a child." Said a red head as he lazily looked at her without giving her a second glance.

Turning her gaze towards all of them, Katara felt out of place; she felt as though she was being cornered and as she stared at all of them she felt uncomfortable by the silence. But within a moment, someone else broke the silence and the heiress let out a sigh of relief.

"Well for starters, that's Hidan, he has quite a mouth; then over there, the guy with the green eyes is Kakuzu, who's obsessed with money; over there, the boy with the long-blonde hair is Deidara, with his partner, Sasori. You've already met me and I'm probably sure you know Itachi, so the only other people you need to meet are over there." Kisame said as he pointed out three people that Katara could spot even though it was fairly dark.

From the looks of it, every member seemed older than her, except for one person. As she took another look at Deidara, she felt as though it was awfully strange that someone so young could get caught up in a gang like this. For once in her life, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.

"Who are they?" questioned the Uchiha to no one in particular.

"I'm the leader of this group, known as Akatsuki; this is Konan, this is Zetsu,." Replied an orange-haired shinobi with many piercings on his face and body.

"It's too late to travel right now; we plan on moving to our other base; we wouldn't want anyone to try to find us. We'll stay in this base until morning." Said the leader.

"Understood, so where are we going tomorrow?" questioned Kisame as he rested his sword on his left shoulder.

"To our other base in Rice Country. I'm sure that some leaf shinobi will come after us seeing that we have one of their most valuable assets." The Leader said as he looked directly at the heiress.

Feeling a bit frightened by this harsh gaze, the Uchiha heiress tried to hide her own fear. And as she looked back at him, she could see that he was in complete thought. At that moment, Katara wondered why they would want her here; to her, it didn't make sense. And although she was now in a room full of S-ranked criminals, she remained calm and collected.

* * *

After a full night's rest, the Uchiha heiress got up bright and early; despite how she didn't sleep as well as she wanted to, she quickly packed up her stuff.

Seeing her door quickly open, Katara stood up from where she sat and approached the male Uchiha. Looking at the bag he was carrying, she was quick to catch it as Itachi threw it at her.

Looking at the navy blue bag with a look of confusion, the heiress looked towards the male for an explanation.

"Those are your things. We will be leaving within an hour. Be sure to get ready; the bathroom is to your right." He had said as he slowly turned, making his way towards the door.

"Arigatou, Itachi." Katara softly said as she watched him close the door to her room.

Looking through the bag, she saw that all her things were there and as she quickly got out a new set of clothes, the Uchiha heiress was quick to head towards the bathroom for a nice shower.

* * *

Quickly getting all her things together, the Uchiha heiress made her way out of the room and towards the outside of the base. Seeing the rest of the Akatsuki outside waiting for her, Katara quickened her pace.

Once she caught up to them, all the members quickly jumped into a fast-paced run. Now that the heiress was able to get a full night's rest, Katara was able to keep up with them and even be in the front with the other Uchiha.

Looking back at their leader, Katara couldn't help but continue to wonder why they wanted her; but as they all continued out their journey, he heiress decided to put that thought past her mind as they all jumped into the treetops.

'**I'm all alone now.' Thought Katara as she continued to move with them. **

* * *

After a full day of traveling, the light from the sun was slowly dimming as the sun was beginning to set. As their orange-haired leader abruptly stopped in an empty clearing, he turned towards al his members.

Seeing that they all stopped in their tracks as well, Pein was quick to say, "We'll set up camp here; it's getting late."

Once that was said, all the Akatsuki members began to set up camp, with a campfire and tents up for sleeping. Katara was currently around the fire playing around with it, like moving it back and forth because ever since she trained for the chuunin exams, she realized that she had some sort of control over the different elements.

"That's a pretty neat trick, un." The same blonde-haired male she had met earlier said. She turned her head to look at him, and then turned back to the fire. "Hey, un, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood." Still there was no response from the Uchiha as she just sadly stared back at the fire, just hoping that maybe there was a chance for someone to rescue her and bring her back to the village, but she felt that this wasn't going to happen. For some odd reason, she felt as though she would remain alone for a long time. Loneliness wasn't a stranger to her; she had experienced it for most of her childhodd despite how she had a family surrounding her. It was the same feeling now; it wasn't until she saved the village did she get their attention and now that she was gone, she felt isolated again. It was as if it was a new beginning for her, one that she didn't want to start from scratch because Katara had put so much work into gaining that respect. And now that everything was torn away from her once again, it was an emptiness that she couldn't ignore anymore; it was something that she was missing: the sensation of having a family.

Trying to get her mind off these sad emotions, Katara continued to look at the fire and seemed to be in a daze as she held her knees close to her body.

"Hey, little Uchiha, you're going to go blind if you keep looking at the fire like that." Kisame said as he stood behind her. As he saw that she chose to ignore his comment, he quickly put his hand on her shoulder and tried to shake her body to get her attention.

"Kiddo—," began the shark as he turned her around and saw her orbs were glowing with a white light in them. Turning her around to wave his hand in front of her face, the Mist nin was thoroughly confused as he continued to look at her.

"What's going on, Kisame?" questioned the Akatsuki leader as he watched the Uchiha as well. As all the Akatsuki members circled around her, the white glow slowly disappeared from her eyes as they returned back to their navy color.

Raising an eyebrow and looking at them as if they were crazy, the Uchiha was quick to say, "What?" as she looked at all of them.

"Wh-what the f*%$ happened there?" exclaimed Hidan.

"I-I was just seeing some things. Nothing important." The heiress stated and tried to keep a straight face as she told her lie.

"That was pretty strange, kiddo. You sure?" asked Kisame as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm fine…" stated the Uchiha as she turned her back towards everyone.

As she decided to just stay by the fire, the Uchiha heiress set up her camp near the fire as she watched everyone's gaze on her; Katara continued to ignore their stares and as everyone was also tired from the day's events, they too went to their sleeping bags as two members were left to keep watch. But as Katara was laying in her sleeping bag, she couldn't help but feel a little homesick as she had trouble falling asleep.

_Dream: _

_He grabbed Haku by the collar of his shirt and was about to stab him in his chest, when Katara broke out of her trance and saw what was going on. _

_She began to get up and beg. Haku was held up defenselessly and looked at his sister as she tried to stop Itachi: "Please, Please Itachi, don't do this" (said this while crying at the same time) "You don't have to do this….you can stop right now…please…just stop". …more tears…. "Wh-what happened to the Itachi I knew? The one that I used to look up to? What happened to that Itachi? (tightens her fists) To think…..I was silly enough to believe that you weren't the one who killed Shisui; I feel like a fool now; I always thought I wanted to grow up to be as strong as you, but I guess I was wrong….Why are you doing this? Why? What about everything that the clan meant to you! Are you going to throw away everything you worked for? What will Sasukethink? Don't tell me you're going to kill him too! You always told me you would always protect him; you're his brother aren't you? Just stop, please, just stop." She said as she fell onto her hands and knees, being blinded by tears. _

_It seemed like Katara's words didn't phase the murderer; the heiress slowly watched him stab her brother in the chest, and she couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes. She saw her brother's blood be spilled down onto the ground and she saw how he just threw her brother's body away like he was nothing. She quickly ran after him, as if she forgot Itachi was still there; she ran towards him and saw what a bloody mess he was; his body was covered in his own blood; she was crying in his chest and when she felt his hand pat her on the back, she turned back to look at him in his eyes. _

"_H-haku?"_

_Coughing up blood. "yeah, it's me." And he smiled. _

"_I-I'm sorry.." she said as she looked over his injuries and began to try to heal him._

"_Stop, Katara" he said with such seriousness. "It's over for me, there's no point in wasting your chakra on me."_

"_No, it's not over! I can still save you if I try hard enough; and plus I thought you said everything would be fine! What happened to that, huh?"_

"_Listen to me" he grabbed her hands, "everything will be fine, trust me."_

"_Th-then, then, don't leave me, please. Mother, father, grandfather, everyone has left me, please don't leave me alone.." as more tears formed and hit her brother on the forehead. _

"_Kay, trust me; maybe, things were suppose to be this way, but listen, no matter what anyone says, don't give up and promise me, don't take the path of an avenger; you can do anything that you put your mind to. I can say that you're the best sister ever and that I love you. You have the strength to carry on through anything. Don't lose hope and always remember that you really are stronger than you know." He said as he put his fingers to her forehead, and with that final conversation, he was gone, just like that. "No, no, Haku, please don't leave me!" She yelled as she began to sprout more tears as she held her brother's body close to her heart; she just couldn't let him go and now, she felt lost without him. _

_End. _

"HAKU!" exclaimed Katara as she quickly woke up from her nightmare. As she breathed heavily from just waking up from her bad dream, the Uchiha heiress closed her navy orbs and took deep breaths. As she managed to recollect her thoughts, she once again laid her head down on her sleeping bag and tried to fall asleep.

Afraid to close her eyes and let sleep over take her, the Uchiha looked ahead of her and saw that Itachi was silently guarding the campsite. Trying to not let her nightmare bother her, she tried to think of other things to keep her mind busy; thinking back on how her life would change from now on, different moments of her life came up in her mind; like how she, Keiko, and Koji always used to try to find out what was under their sensei's mask, and how they always trained together.

After a few more moments, Katara's head quickly filled up with happy thoughts, and as her eyes slowly closed, she once again let sleep over take her.

* * *

The next morning, everyone got up earlier than the sunrise, getting ready to leave before anyone would spot them; Katara was waiting for everyone to get ready; ever since the massacre, she now always woke up early to watch the sunset, and as she was standing alone, she felt another presence near her. She turned her head and saw it was Deidara, who was painting the sunrise on his canvas. She quietly snuck behind him and he nearly jumped when he heard her voice: "That's a really pretty picture."

"Thanks, un. So are you ready for our trip?" questioned the artist as he started to put his artistic tools away.

"Well, I was just waiting for everyone, while I was watching the sunrise." Replied the Uchiha.

"What do you think of art?" asked the blonde.

"Wh-what?' asked the heiress.

"I was just wondering what you thought of art." Stated the artist.

"Oh, well, I've always loved art and I always thought of it as something like it could last forever, but it's not as valuable, but at the same time, it could last for only a moment, making it more valuable."

"Hm….I never thought of it that way." The blonde said as he thought about her response. "You know for a kid, you sure are smarter than you seem."

The Uchiha giggled once hearing the blonde's repsonse. "Thanks, I think we better head back; they probably think I ran off or something." Katara said as she grabbed the blonde's hand.

* * *

After traveling for about five hours up in the treetops, many of the Akatsuki members were starting to show symptoms of exhaustion; but on the other hand, the two Uchihas, Itachi and Katara, seemed to show no sign of tiredness. **'Damn these Uchihas and their unlimited stamina.'** Thought Kisame as he was also beginning to feel signs of tiredness get to him.

Suddenly, the Uchiha heiress stopped; she stopped right in her own tracks so suddenly, that some of the members almost crashed into her. As Itachi was watching her carefully, he noticed that she had her Sharingan on, checking her surroundings; he then saw her eyes widen and he sensed something was wrong. Turning on his own Sharingan, he saw that the whole forest in front of him had been set up as a trap with many complicated wires.

Katara quickly got on her feet and leapt down, right into the trap; for some reason, she felt another familiar chakra signature hiding in the trees. As she took out a shuriken to throw at the bushes, a very familiar person jumped out and began to throw weapons at her as well. The man was definitely older and the age showed on his face. He looked a bit different from what she remembered he looked like, but there was no doubt about it, it was Yukazashi Rai, the missing nin that kidnapped her that one night. As she got into position to defend against his larger silver katana, she realized that she was left alone on the battlefield while the other members were probably watching her fight. With a holt, the Hidden Cloud ninja stopped in his tracks, as he realized that it was the same Uchiha girl, except now she was grown-up.

"Heh…seems like we meet again, red star. I thought you were killed off with the rest of your clan. No matter, I'll be happy to finish the job."

* * *

**Next time, you'll see the battle! I haven't written a battle scene in awhile, so I hope the next scene lives up to your standards. Until then, review please! **

**-Katara**


	32. Chapter 29: Past and Present

**Chapter 29: Past and Present **

Standing right before her, Katara watched her opponent closely as she watched him hold his katana. As both shinobi stood still, waiting for the other to make the first move, the Uchiha could see that Rai was becoming impatient. Seeing the fierceness in his eyes, Katara knew that he was ready to attack; as she watched his feet start moving and charging towards her, the Uchiha prepared herself for his oncoming attack.

From the spot that the young Uchiha was standing at, she was ready to defend against any attack he was going to throw at her. As he came in slashing wildly with his katana, she narrowly avoided all his advances, with only a strand of her hair cut off. As she looked more closely at his sword, she saw that it really didn't cut with its blade, it seemed that it used chakra to actually inflict damage. As Rai was coming in with another slash of his sword, Katara quickly avoided it and did a backflip to allow her to create more space between them.

As she was making more room for their battle, at the same time she formulated her plan in order to defeat her opponent. Just as he was about to charge at her with his katana in hand, she quickly got out a kunai to defend herself. But as she was prepared for another slash from his sword, she quickly realized that he was forming some seals with his free hand. As he was about to make another slash for her body, her kunai managed to stop him midway. But as both their weapons clashed, the Uchiha heiress realized that her opponent had finished with his seals and from the look of surprise on her face, she saw him smirk.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Strike!" the missing nin yelled as a more ominious atmosphere took over. As Katara looked around her, she saw that the sky turned into a more gloomy, gray color as storm clouds came her way as well. Katara quickly separated from her opponent and backed up as a lightning strike struck the spot she had previously stood on. She looked at the damage the strike had caused to the ground, and from that moment, she knew that she would've been toast if she didn't move in time. The intensity of the attack was very powerful and concentrated and as another attack was coming for her, she quickly ran into the bushes to hide and think of another way out of this.

* * *

Lightning after lightning strike, Rai continued with his oncoming rampage of attacks after the heiress hid herself. "You're going have to come out sometime and when you do, get ready for your death wish."

A lightning strike was about 50 feet away from Katara's hiding spot, and as she saw that it was getting closer, she quickly panicked since she hadn't really managed to think of a good plan yet. **'Alright…I have to calm down…now this may only be a guess, but all of his attacks seem to stem from his sword. So getting rid of the sword would be the best strategy. But I have to find a way without getting struck by the lightning in order to try to get his sword away.' Thought Uchiha Katara **as she was trying to move farther away from the lighting from hiding spot to hiding spot.

* * *

"Leader-sama, shouldn't we help her, un?" questioned the blonde- Iwa nin as he watched the Uchiha heiress evade another strike.

"No, she can handle this on her own. And as another plus, I've wanted to see what she really was capable of in battle." Replied the Akatsuki's leader.

* * *

'**Well, time to put my plan into action I guess.' Thought the Uchiha as **she jumped out from her hiding spot and as she jumped into the empty arena, Rai noticed her and quickly took aim at her form. As she closed in onto her opponent, she quickly avoided the attack and jumped up 20 feet into the air and threw at least 30 kunai that stuck into the ground. As she landed onto her feet, she saw that Rai was getting ready for another attack headed directly at her as he swung his sword toward her direction. The Uchiha heiress stood there waiting for the attack hoping that her idea would work and as the attack neared, the lightning quickly was absorbed into the kunai knives.

"W-hat?" exclaimed the missing cloud ninja as a clear look of shock was found on his face.

'**I see, she used her kunai knives as lightning rods.' Thought Itachi as **he watched more closely at the battle.

"Now, Rin!" yelled Katara as a golden-orange fox jumped out from the bushes, aimed at her target: Rai's sword. From there, Katara's summoning quickly used her speed as she took the sword out of his hands and threw it towards her summoner. The missing Cloud nin looked towards the Uchiha with an intense glare as he began to charge at her. Her summoning, Rin, stepped out of the way and as the Cloud nin neared his opponent, Katara qiuickly got a few kunai and shuriken out. She threw them directly at her opponent and as they made their way towards Rai, he managed to avoid all of the projectiles and as he stood a few feet away from her, he said with a smirk, "You missed."

With a smirk as well, the female Uchiha said, "I don't think so," as she pulled onto a few wires that were attached to her weapons and tangled her opponent as she attached him to a tree. **'Time to end this.' Thought Katara** as she was still holding onto the wires in her mouth as she made more complicated seals. On her opponent's face as a look of shock as he was tied down and waiting for his doom; he tried his best to retrieve his kunai from his side, but to no avail, it was impossible. Katara finished her seals in mere seconds and as she gathered all her chakra into her mouth for the Dragon Phoenix Jutsu, she pulled her body back and as she opened her mouth to release the fire within her, she bent forward and hit Rai directly just as the lightning struck him as well.

The tree that the Cloud shinobi was tied onto was quickly burning and as both the lightning and fire hit him at once, Katara could hear his screams as she turned her back towards him and slowly pet Rin for a job well done. As Katara made her way towards Rai's sword, rain began to slowly pour from the sky and hit her forehead as she retrieved the weapon. She once again made her way towards her dead and burnt opponent and stuck his sword into the earth near his body. She and her fox stood there silently until from the bushes, the Akatsuki members came out.

As the members came out, the golden-orange fox was quick to growl at all of them and took a defensive position in front of her master as they came closer. Her summoner quickly turned towards the fox and whispered, "Rin, calm down; it's alright, I know them." Her master's words made the fox slowly back down, but her summoning couldn't help but resent most of the people there as Katara made Rin disappear back to her own world.

There was a moment of silence as they all approached her still-standing form. No words were exchanged as they left the area, but from what Katara had seen, mostly everyone seemed awed at how she handled the battle, except for another Uchiha who seemed indifferent about what just happened.

* * *

As night overcame the dark, gloomy silence, the Akatsuki made it into their base before nightfall completely covered the whole sky in an endless pitch of darkness. Inside the base, Katara was awed at how big and homey it felt. From what she saw, it was clean and organized, and many rooms filled the place as she looked up and down.

The Uchiha heiress was slowly brought out of her trance as a hand touched her shoulder and got her attention. "Hey, kiddo, leader wants you. Enter through those doors over there." The blue shark said as he pointed to double wooden doors directly in front of her. Katara gulped from nervousness on the inside, but did not show it as she slowly put both hands out in front of her to turn the handles. Both doors creaked open and as the Uchiha stepped inside, they shut themselves automatically and she realized that the room was covered in total darkness as she looked around. She slowly walked forward until a voice and a set of spiraling purple orbs met up with her navy-colored eyes.

"Katara, your abilities are quite extraordinary for someone your age. Which was why we considered you to be a very valuable asset to Akatsuki. Here you will be trained so that your full potential can be brought out. I expect that you will be in charge of any medical assitance and I'm sure that you have many more surprises within you." The leader said as Katara listened carefully to what he was saying. As he finished up with his lecture, Katara heard the door slowly creak open as another figure stepped in. With acknowledgement from the person, the leader said aloud, "Itachi, you will be in charge of her and she will be your subordinate for the time being until she can prove that she will be loyal to this organization. Everyday, I expect her to train and develop different skills, which is why she'll be learning from all the members here. She is a prodigy like you had said before."

"Of course." The Uchiha said as he looked at his new subordinate.

"Katara…..Itachi will show you to your room, and from there, you will unpack and find that your Akatsuki cloak and other items are there was well. You both are dismissed." The leader said as he got up to leave.

But before the leader got a chance to exit, the younger Uchiha yelled out, "Wait," which caused the Akatsuki leader to stop in his tracks as he waited for what she was about to say next as the older Uchiha looked at her too. Itachi see a hint of determination in her eyes and allowed her to continue as both males waited to hear what she would say.

"I have a few conditions before you leave. I'm willing to be loyal to this organization as long as you abide to a promise to never dare to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. On account of that, I know what you're after. You're after the demon containers and I am one of them, but from here on out, I refuse to be involved with anything dealing with catching them. I will be willing to do any other missions."

"Very well. As for your requests, I will abide to the one dealing with your village, but as for the other one, I cannot promise you that. In the future, we may need your services to take down of the demons." The leader replied as he disappeared.

* * *

After a long talk with Pein, both Uchihas made it out of the room, where Katara was happy to get out of there and actually have some light in a room. Itachi silently lead her through many hallways, until he stopped at a door with her name, Uchiha Katara, written on the wooden door. From there, Katara looked at what the other doors said and realized that all the Akatsuki member's rooms were here. Her room in particular was next to Itachi's and Deidara's. The older Uchiha slowly opened the door to her room and on the inside, she saw that it was a simple, big room with it's own bathroom in it. But the walls were quite bland and boring as they held the same black and crimson colors Akatsuki was known for.

Katara stepped into her new room and quickly set her things on her bed as she took a look around. Her attention was turned away from the room as Itachi's voice caught her attention when he said, "I'll be next door if you need anything; and you're welcome to change the outline of this room." And with that he left the Uchiha heiress on her own as he exited from the room.

* * *

**So many changes have happened! Wait and see what happens later on! Stay tuned please and review! And be free to check out my other story! :)**

**Ja Ne!**

**-katara**


End file.
